First portion of Grand Park in Frisco open to the public this fall

Residents will soon be able to explore the beginnings of what Frisco officials consider one of their most ambitious parks.

A portion of Grand Park, from Cotton Gin Road to Stonebrook Parkway, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Coates. Coates on May 3 presented a multi-phase plan to begin work on the park before City Council.

Land dedicated to Grand Park now totals 1,035 acres and spans from near Lake Lewisville up to immediately east of the Dallas North Tollway around the Frisco Discovery Center, according to Coates. Progress on the project has been a top priority for City Council in recent years, and several potential amenities are under consideration for the future, such as an arboretum.

Coates said visitors will enter off Cotton Gin Road and be encouraged to “play primitively” in a largely undeveloped piece of the park. Those walking a trail through this portion of Grand Park will be guided by signage, encountering wetlands and heavily wooded areas around the Wollenreich homestead, according to the presentation.

“This is really our phase one. We’ll bring people in [and] have some parking. We’re imagining a very rustic trailhead,” Coates said. “We want to leave it as natural as we can.”

The first three phases will be developed within the western region of Grand Park, according to Coates. Work within the northeastern region is dependent upon more progress toward the completed cleanup of the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant.

Frisco purchased land around the Exide plant in 2012. In 2020, Frisco City Council members approved a plan to take over remediation and ownership of the site. Deputy City Manager Ron Patterson said a design firm will only be hired once more progress has been made on the cleanup effort.

Mayor Jeff Cheney said the park will be built out over decades, and will evolve over time as the city receives input from the community.

“This is going to be a park that people will be able to see grow and change—a lot of people, through their entire lives,” Cheney said. “This is where we're starting.”