On Oct. 15, Frisco City Council members signed off on a $113.43 million incentive agreement and accompanying development agreement for The Mix, a mixed-use development off of Dallas Parkway.
The gist
Some residents know The Mix development as Wade Park, a long-since-abandoned mixed-use project at the same site, or as “the hole,” nicknamed for the concrete pit left behind after developers dug the beginnings of what would have been an underground parking garage for Wade Park.
That parking garage project will now continue. It must be screened completely in the next six months and completely finished by 2033 in order for developers to receive the city funds outlined in the incentive agreement, according to meeting documents.
The agreement will have no impact on the property tax rate for residents or business owners, Assistant City Manager Rob Millar said. All incentive funds come from the tax revenue generated by The Mix’s construction.
What they’re saying
The incentive program covers the first phase of what will be a multi-phase development project, according to a meeting presentation.
Aside from fixing “the hole on the tollway,” which will turn a pit more than twice the size of The Ford Center into a 2,250-space underground parking garage, other community benefits and features outlined in the first phase include:
- A Whole Foods or similar upscale grocer
- 114,000 square feet of Class A medical office space
- 33,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurant space
- 630 urban residential living or townhome units
- Open space and pedestrian areas
The incentive funds are all performance-based. Here is a quick look at some of the requirements The Mix needs to meet in order to receive them:
- Establish and maintain screening of “the hole”
- Complete all phase 1 infrastructure by Dec. 31, 2026
- Open the grocery store and 80% of retail by Dec. 31, 2027
- Complete the medical office building by Dec. 31, 2028
- Complete the residential units by Dec. 31, 2030
- Complete the underground parking garage and Phase One open space by Dec. 31, 33
The residential units are not included in the incentive program, according to meeting documents.
Breaking it down
The incentive agreement is similar to one approved in July for The Fields West development. Aside from the city itself, the other members involved in the incentives are:
- TheMix Partners LLC, also referred to as JVP Development, the entity behind the development
- Frisco’s Economic Development Corporation
- Frisco’s Community Development Corporation
Board members from the FEDC and FCDC approved their sides of the incentive agreement during a special-called meeting earlier Oct. 15.
The agreement, which will help fund certain aspects of the 112-acre development, included a $10 million infrastructure grant from the FEDC and $103.43 million in tax grants from the city, FEDC and FCDC.
The grants are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2054 or once the developers receive the $103.43 million maximum, according to meeting documents.
Something to note
The city had an incentive agreement in place when the land was still set to become Wade Park. It was that agreement that saved the city from having to pay anything to the developers when they backed out and left the hole behind, Cheney said.
The new agreement approved Oct. 15 is even stricter than it was for Wade Park, Cheney said.
The parking garage is not needed until the development’s second and third phases but is an important piece of the project and important enough to finish as soon as possible, Millar said.
Council members approved the zoning and a development agreement for The Mix in September 2023. At the time, construction was expected to break ground later that year.
In the year since, residents at nearly every public event featuring council members have asked about the status of “the hole,” Cheney said.
“We’re more excited than ever to have another groundbreaking on that property, which we look forward to just in the coming months,” he said.
