The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of a rezoning request to rescind several specific-use permits and approve a concept plan during its Jan. 16 meeting after tabling consideration at the applicant's request in December. The specific-use permits likely to be rescinded pertained to the use of private clubs, and car leasing and rental.
The overview
With the recommendation for approval, Dallas-based developer Centennial plans to demolish up to 530,000 square feet of the existing Shops at Willow Bend while maintaining around 400,000 square feet. The elements that will remain include Macy’s, Dillard’s Neiman Marcus, restaurants in The District at Willow Bend, three parking structures and two smaller retail sites.
“[The plan] is to maintain as much of the existing Shops at Willow Bend that we can possibly maintain and deliver it in a way that works for the next 50 years, [and] is engaging, exciting, a fabric of the community and an experience that it cannot deliver under its current situation,” Centennial CEO Steve Levin said.
According to city documents, proposed redevelopment includes mid-rise residential, office space, a hotel and open space. Plano Lead Planner Raha Poladi said the redevelopment would also need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The specifics
Levin said the hope for the project at The Shops at Willow Bend is to redevelop it into something resembling The Domain in Austin, which incorporates a mix of uses. Plans for the property include several components, per city documents.
- A maximum of 965 multifamily units, including the potential for 40 townhomelike units
- A minimum of 10 acres of open space, 7 acres of which must be accessible to the public
- One seven-story office building
- One 18-story hotel
- Several one- to two-story retail buildings
“If we don’t get going, we are losing tenants who can’t wait for the redevelopment to happen,” Levin said. “We can’t lease those spaces now because we don’t have a path forward to recreate this project.”
What’s next?
Michael Platt, executive vice president of mixed-use development at Centennial, said most of 2024 would be spent drawing up construction and demolition plans along with applying for building permits. He added that construction on the first phase could begin in early 2025.
Construction efforts for the first phase would likely last a little over two years, or around mid-2027, Platt said. Council is expected to consider the rezoning request in February.
“This project is an opportunity to not only save, but revitalize what was built as and intended to be a major asset in the city of Plano,” Commissioner J. Michael Brounoff said. “With this project, [it] has the potential to be a major asset within the city of Plano—something I’d hate to lose.”
