The project will be built on one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Plano and the last large piece of unused land owned by the Haggard family, according to a city report. The family has owned land in Collin County since the mid-1800s.
Stillwater Capital is developing the project in partnership with Haggard Enterprises Limited.
Stillwater Capital Managing Director Clay Roby said the company hopes to break ground on the project by the end of 2022.
Council voted 5-3 in-favor of the zoning change at the Dec. 7 meeting.
Rutledge Haggard, owner of Haggard Enterprises, said the project's approval has been a long time coming.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of effort,” he said. “I think we got the best outcome and [residents] will enjoy the project. It will be something they can be complimentary of.”
Council members Anthony Ricciardelli, Shelby Williams and Rick Smith voted against the proposal. All three council members complimented the plan but referenced issues related to high building density and lack of compliance with city planning documents as reasons for voting against the proposal.
Mayor John Muns said after the meeting that the quality of Stillwater Capital’s past projects, long-standing respect for the Haggard family and the changing demands for commercial development all motivated him to vote for the development.
“We are not talking about a Legacy West with that high density,” he said. “I thought this was very pragmatic and really well positioned to be a good development. They had time to pivot and react to market changes that were happening because of the pandemic. That is a big advantage.”
The more than 2 million-square-foot proposed development site is located near the Dallas North Tollway in between Spring Creek Parkway and Parkwood Boulevard.
The development would have a rustic farm theme and feature a restaurant called The Almanac that serves locally sourced food, according to a presentation by Stillwater Capital.
It would also include multiple outdoor event spaces, a park, offices, high-end apartments, a boutique hotel, space for various retail businesses, townhomes, parking garages and a large pond.
The project has been in planning stages for over a year, according to the developers. It was first proposed publicly at the Sept. 20 planning and zoning meeting but was tabled by the commission multiple times to give the developers more time to address resident concerns.
Some changes to the plan that were made following those meetings included limitations to where retirement and multifamily housing units could be placed, the addition of a large screening wall with landscaping to help conceal parking garages, a pedestrian crosswalk and more specific language on where commercial properties will be built.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the proposal at the Nov. 15 meeting.
“We wanted to find a way to create a walkable, pedestrian friendly, low-density development, which is what the Haggard family wants, and what we are proposing,” Roby said.
David Kemp said he has lived in Plano for 40 years and is not in favor of the development.
“We need to keep this as a single-family dwelling,” he said. “It is a mass of people crowding into our city and changing the feel of it from the nice suburban neighborhood that I moved into.”
Roby said the development is meant to be focused on outdoor spaces with walking trails, trees and artificial streams. He said the company wants the various restaurants and retail shops to be sourced from local businesses.
Stillwater Capital is also developing The Link in Frisco, a $1 billion mixed-use development in partnership with the PGA.
A presentation for the new development can be seen here.
