Frisco officials focus on parking in redevelopment of land near Riders Field

Frisco officials said they believe redevelopment of land at Dallas Parkway and Ikea Drive surrounding Riders Field will draw heavy foot traffic. The city wants to make sure adequate parking supports the project.

On Sept. 29, the Frisco Community Development Corp. approved a $19 million contract with Alterra Capital Management for 14.6 acres just south of Riders Field, formerly known as Dr Pepper Ballpark. The FCDC jointly owned the land with the city, and was required to approve the sale after Frisco City Council approved it on Sept. 21.

A 320,000-square-foot office building and a food and entertainment center on 1.25 acres are among Alterra’s obligations in the contract. However, Deputy City Manager Ron Patterson said the required parking garage with at least 1,200 spaces is necessary to support the project.

Patterson said new structures will eliminate surface parking around Riders Field. Because of this, he said Frisco will pay 30% of the cost to build 800 covered parking spaces.

“This will trigger the need for those spaces, taken away, in terms of the surface parking and move those into a structured facility,” Patterson said. “What we will do from the city's perspective is take some of this money [from the sale] and plow that back into being able to help with that project.”

The contract with Alterra requires 750 event-parking spaces and 50 full-time parking spaces within the future parking garage for the Frisco RoughRiders. To support this, Alterra is required within the next three months to provide a cost estimate to the city for parking.

If Alterra fails to provide a formal cost estimate for parking and a site plan, the contract allows Frisco to end the deal.

“At the end of the day, we have to remember that, no matter what you build, you’ve got to have parking for it,” Patterson said. “We’ve got to make sure that that obligation is there forever.”