The funding will be put toward public improvement items and costs, including the addition of wider sidewalks, planting street trees and moving above-ground utilities underground. The developer will pay for these improvements and then receive a reimbursement in the amount of $971,500 upon completion. The agreement has an expiration date of 2029.
InTown Homes was previously denied the agreement at a Dec. 14 City Council meeting. The developer appealed to council members in early February and was given a chance at reconsideration Feb. 22.
At the Feb. 8 meeting, InTown Homes representatives said they felt not enough discussion took place prior to the vote on the original agreement. Council members also shared that there was confusion over whether the development's request was linked to an item on the same agenda that focused on the city's purchase of a portion of the First Baptist Church property for a park. The purchase was denied, and shortly thereafter, so was the now-approved incentive agreement.
The agreement was passed as part of the consent agenda Feb. 22. The board of directors for the area's Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone unanimously recommended the incentive request in July 2020.
First Baptist Church of Plano announced InTown Homes as the future developer of its historic property in 2019 after moving to sell its property that January. The proposed plans for the InTown Homes project include 270 apartment units, 50 town homes, a parking garage, up to 40,000 feet of commercial space, and a preservation and repurposing of the original church chapel.
Work cannot begin on the site until the First Baptist Church relocates to its new property off the President George Bush Turnpike later this year.
