Collin Creek Mall redevelopment project to receive $30 million in funding for parking garage

The city of Plano approved an interlocal agreement Oct. 12 to receive $30 million in federal funds toward a parking garage near downtown Plano.

The garage will be part of the Collin Creek Mall redevelopment project. It is expected to have nearly 2,000 total parking spaces, at least 100 of which will be reserved as park-n-ride spaces for those who would like to ride on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit service, per the interlocal agreement. In addition, DART will also have two electric bus recharging spaces in the garage for transportation to the Downtown Plano Light Rail Station.

One half of the funding comes in the form of a grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, while the other half is a loan that must be repaid to the council over a period of 15 years. The city of Plano is contributing an additional $25 million to the garage.

The portion of land that the garage will sit on has been identified as an area that requires more economic incentive to attract further development, according to the preliminary project plans. Because of this, the city of Plano created a tax increment fund to pay the cost of public improvements and projects in that area.

Current boundaries for the garage just show that it will be between Alma Drive and North Central Expressway where the Collin Creek Mall redevelopment project is taking place.

The funding was initially approved by the council's Regional Transportation Council Feb. 27. It is the first funding of its kind from the Regional Transportation Council and is shaping a new program that will make funds available to more redevelopment projects. Previously only new developments were eligible for these types of funds, but with this program, more redevelopment projects may be able to receive funding, as previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper.