What you need to know
Council members unanimously approved the annexation request for the 9-acre site. The zoning request to establish a planned development district with commercial, office and retail zoning was approved 5-1, with Mayor Ryan Tubbs voting against it, citing the buildings' height and concerns about emergency response times.
The project, NextGen Celina Senior Community, will include assisted living and memory care facilities on both sides of Legacy Drive.
The west side will feature two three-story assisted living buildings with 142 one- and two-bedroom units, while the east side will include a two-story memory care and assisted living building with 55 units, according to city documents.
What they’re saying
Tubbs said the distance from existing fire stations could strain public safety resources.
“We’re creating a demand we can’t meet,” Tubbs said. “This is a project [that] we need, and it may not be the right location today.”
Celina Fire Chief Shawn White said the development would be served by Celina Fire Stations Nos. 1 and 2, which have longer response times to that area—about 12 minutes from Station 1 and 15 minutes from Station 2.
A new station planned to be near the Legacy subdivision, Fire Station No. 5, isn’t expected to open until 2029 or 2030, White said.
One more thing
City officials said the applicant voluntarily deed-restricted multifamily development on the property, largely in response to Senate Bill 840, which took effect in September and expands where multifamily and mixed-use development can be built.
The new state legislation applies to cities with populations over 150,000 in counties with more than 300,000 residents. While SB 840 does not currently apply to Celina, the city is projected to reach nearly 130,000 residents by 2030, according to data from Celina’s Economic Development Corporation.
