The Prosper Arts District is a mixed-use development set to bring boutique retail spaces, art installations, office towers, multifamily spaces and some of the first hotels to Prosper.
Construction was originally supposed to begin before the end of 2024. As of February 2025, a groundbreaking is still months away with revised project plans expected to be approved by the town this summer.
“A lot of projects are announced, and then reality strikes,” said Barry Hand, a principal with Gensler—the architecture and design firm behind the Prosper Arts District. “However, the project is still going forward.”
What’s happening
The biggest setback for the project is the land itself, Hand said. The 35 acres earmarked for the project are located at the northwest corner of Prosper Trail and Dallas Parkway and are in a floodplain.
The Texas Water Development Board, which works to address the state’s water needs, defines a floodplain as a geographic area subject to flooding or land adjacent to a waterway necessary to contain a flood.
“There's a lot of work that has to be done when you're developing right up to the water,” Hand said.
Water features were included in the original designs when the development was first approved by Prosper Town Council members in June 2024. The first of four phases of the Prosper Arts District—featuring the first of three hotels, waterway installations, the development’s overall infrastructure, a parking garage and retail—was scheduled to finish in 2026.
Other features planned for the development include:
- Three hotel concepts
- 515 multifamily units
- Extensive retail village
- Around 24 art installations
“What slowed us down is trying to get the floodplain back within a footprint that doesn't materially change the design,” Hand said. “We're pretty excited about where we are right now, it's going to be a little bit of a different story how we manage the floodplain, but it'll be equally or more interesting than what was presented.”
Capitalize Ventures developer Krishna Nimmagadda, the Prosper Arts District developer, has continued to work with designers and the town to move the project forward through regular updates and meetings, Hand said.
“With interest rates and construction costs being what they are, Prosper’s a great market but still there are complexities in the market,” Hand said. “There's always headwinds but the developer, the owner, is committed to following the phasing approved by the city.”
Nimmagadda did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The phasing approved by the town will still go as planned even as the overall story of the project changes, Hand said.
“The original concept plan showed us a body of water, and given the regulatory environment and some of the constraints we've got on that flood plain, it'll be a different type of water feature, with some ponds down low, but it's really going to be a story,” Hand said. “That story is still coming together, but we think it's going to be more of a story about wildlife habitat and engaging in that wildlife habitat as a natural stream as it exists today.”
The plans will still include bridges and pedestrian pathways going over the water features but will focus on celebrating the existing habitat, Hand said.
Going forward
The revised site plans for the Prosper Arts District will go back to Town Council members for their approval sometime this summer, Hand said.
“Let's get through the preliminary site plan first, and we'll see where it goes from there,” Hand said. “We've got a lot of designers and engineers that are focused on that for now, and hopefully we'll see something moving this year.”
