A massive hole that has been an eyesore on the east side of the Dallas North Tollway for the past seven years is set to get new life as part of a proposed $3 billion mixed-use development.
Developers of the project called The Mix that spans 112 acres in Frisco, Texas, a fast-growing suburb about 26 miles north of downtown Dallas, landed $113.4 million of city economic incentives for their plans.
Frisco's city council approved the performance-based grants in the past week, making way for construction to get started, said Tim Campbell, head of development for The Mix. The Mix is expected to bring 2 million square feet of office space, 375,000 square feet of retail space, two hotels and townhouses and so-called urban living units to Frisco.
The Mix will fill the literal hole dug at the site by an affiliate of Atlanta-based developer Stan Thomas as part of his defunct $2 billion Wade Park vision, as CoStar News previously reported. Work on Wade Park stopped in 2017 and the site has sat dormant since then.
The Mix is unaffiliated with Thomas. The Frisco incentives are expected to support the remediation of the property, the construction of an underground parking garage and The Mix's first phase. The incentives will close a chapter of the city's history known as the "hole by the Tollway" that has been a "major outlier" in Frisco's successful development story along this part of the Dallas North Tollway, said Ken Schmidt, Frisco's director of special projects, in a city briefing.
"Frisco has been very successful in developing the Tollway corridor," Schmidt told the city council. "The 'hole by the Tollway' has been a major outlier in our story and there is significant consensus in the community for that condition to change."
This part of Frisco's Dallas North Tollway boasts a handful of billion-dollar mixed-use developments from well-heeled investors, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Dallas developer Craig Hall and Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood. The addition of The Mix helps round out what has been a hotbed of mixed-use construction in the city.
The incentives require The Mix's development group that is affiliated with New York City-based JVP Development to complete a 114,000-square-foot medical office building, 40,000 square feet for an upscale grocery store, 33,000 square feet of upscale retail space, 630 townhouses or urban living residential units, a 2,250-space underground parking garage and a large park with more than 16 acres of open space throughout the project.
"We have worked closely with city leaders to ensure that our plans align with their goals and vision for the future, and we are committed to making this project a success for everyone involved," Campbell said in a statement.
The initial phase of the infrastructure is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, according to a development agreement with the city. Other phases such as opening an upscale grocer and at least 80% of the initial retail space are scheduled to occur by the end of 2027.
The new Class A offices and underground parking garage are expected to "significantly boost" Frisco's ability to attract "more corporate headquarters, technology firms and specialty medical companies," said Shanna Keaveny, vice chair of the Frisco Economic Development Corp., in a statement.
In the last 12 months, the Frisco area has absorbed 1.1 million square feet of office space, with the vacancy rate being 14.5%, according to CoStar data. TIAA recently moved into their new 15-story office tower at The Star in Frisco that is anchored by the Dallas Cowboys. Demand for newer office buildings has enabled the area's vacancy rate to remain below the Dallas-Fort Worth region's norm of 18.3%, CoStar's market analysts say.