Rail District open house drums up excitement for downtown Frisco project

About the project

Revitalizing the Rail District has been a long-awaited dream of city officials since it was first hinted at in Frisco’s 2015 comprehensive plan.

A timeline presented to Frisco City Council members Nov. 7 estimates plaza construction will wrap up just before the 2026 World Cup and the visitors it is expected to bring to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

• Elm Street construction: July-December 2023
• Main Street construction: April 2024-April 2026
• Plaza construction: April 2024-April 2026
• Downtown parking garage construction: August 2024-July 2025

What they’re saying

Multiple Rail District business owners attended the open house event to learn more about the plans for their section of the city.

“I think long term this is only going to benefit us,” said David Wible, Three Empires Brewing Co. co-owner. “The walkability of downtown has always been something we've been wanting.”

Wible said that hopefully the local businesses in the downtown area will be able to tie themselves to the new Rail District in some way, such as through the Economic Development Corporation.

“There will be some short-term pain, obviously, as with any improvements, but we're looking forward to it,” Wible said.

The projects slated for the Rail District have been a long time coming, Hammond said.

“There had come a point a couple years ago where my husband and I just really thought that we would never see the revitalization in our lifetime, because there had been so many efforts and ... we had seen no movement forward,” Hammond said.

Stay tuned

The Dec. 7 event will likely be the last Rail District-related forum as the city prepares to start Main Street construction in April, Brodigan said.

“To do that, we really need to go from here and start producing plans,” Brodigan said.

More information about Fourth Street Plaza can be found on the city’s website.

“We've seen the renderings, and it's more than what we ever thought could be here,” Hammond said. “It's going to be phenomenal.”