Land purchase, tax abatement policy: 3 Southlake City Council actions you may have missed

From approving the purchase of land that could become a future park to reauthorizing the city’s tax abatement program for economic development incentives, check out three recent actions taken by Southlake City Council.

Council members approved each of these items during the June 16 meeting.

Dragon Stadium property purchase

Southlake officials unanimously approved a purchase and sale agreement with Carroll ISD for 14.87 acres. The property contains Old Dragon Stadium, which was declared surplus by CISD in 2023, according to previous reporting.

The agreement will see the city pay CISD $8.75 million for the property, which is allocated in the city’s Capital Improvements Program. Southlake officials plan to turn the old stadium property into a future parks and recreation facility, according to city documents.

In a Facebook post, Southlake Mayor Shawn McCaskill said the city will gather feedback from the community on the future facility.

Southlake tax abatement policy

Director of Economic Development and Tourism Daniel Cortez said the city is required to reauthorize its tax abatement policy every two years. The policy, which outlines the conditions an applicant must meet to receive tax abatements from the city, was originally created in 2016.

Cortez said the 2026 update included two changes:

• Increasing the average annual compensation from $60,000 to $70,000 for the development of new facilities or structures
• Raising the average annual compensation from $50,000 to $60,000 for projects that expand or modernize a facility or structure

The city currently has two active tax abatement agreements for VariSpace Southlake and Charles Schwab, which was formerly the TD Ameritrade building. Cortez said neither project has hit all three goals outlined in the policy, so no abatements have been paid out.

Texas Water Development Board grant application

Southlake officials plan to submit a grant application to the Texas Water Development Board requesting nearly $4.13 million. The grant would fund the Southlake Park Phase 3 project, which includes:

• Looping the water system to enhance water quality on dead-end mains
• Ensuring adequate fire protection for residents along Crescent, Hillside and Southlake Park drives
• Providing future accessibility to clean drinking water for residents who request city services

Southlake officials have been working with Baird, Hampton & Brown on the first two phases of the project, which started in 2022, according to city documents. Council could consider an engineering services contract for the project’s third phase this fall.