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After two decades of planning, construction crews are set to break ground on Grand Park in 2026.
A ceremony is planned for the week of April 13, Play Frisco Director Shannon Coates said at a Jan. 15 City Council work session.
The details
Grand Park will be a 1,011-acre “urban oasis” along the Dallas North Tollway, according to the project website.
The park will be built in four phases:
Construction on Civic Park, which will include an amphitheater, pond and walking trails, is set to begin this year after the groundbreaking ceremony in April.
The backstory
Voters approved funding for Grand Park in a 2006 bond election, according to city documents, but construction has been delayed by cleanup efforts around Exide Technologies, a former lead battery recycling plant that leached harmful chemicals into the soil and water.
Exide Technologies agreed to close its Frisco plant in 2012, and in exchange, the city of Frisco purchased nearly 170 acres that Exide used as a buffer around the facility, according to previous reporting.
Exide also agreed to remove contaminants from about 100 acres of soil, but after eight years of delays, Frisco officials decided to acquire the site itself and take charge of cleanup operations in 2020.
City Council formally adopted a set of guiding principles for the development and conducted a site analysis in January 2024.
How it’s going
The old treatment plant on the Exide site is gone, and contaminated soil in the former North Landfill has been removed, Frisco Engineering Services Director Jason Brodigan said at the Jan. 15 work session.
His department is putting up a wall around the site of the old treatment plant, he said. Once the wall is complete, work can begin on cleaning up Stewart Creek, which runs through Grand Park.
He estimated that stream cleanup can start in 18 months and will take two to three years.
The cost
When the city of Frisco bought the land around the Exide site, $25 million was placed in a trust for cleanup costs, Frisco Chief Financial Officer Derrick Cotten explained. The city contributed an additional $14 million to the fund, for a total of $39 million.
At the Jan. 15 work session, Cotten said the original $39 million budget will not be enough. His department is working with a consultant to review the budget, which he expects to increase by roughly $20 million.
Last summer, Frisco officials said they would seek additional state funding during the 89th legislative session.
Frisco was not awarded any cleanup money in the final version of the state budget.
Cotten said there should be enough funding to continue work on the site through 2027, when Frisco officials can ask for state funding again during the next legislative session.
Stay tuned
Big Bluestem Trail, a natural 2.2-mile trail that runs through the undeveloped Grand Park site, is open to the public.
Residents can visit the project website for updates.
