Town Hall
Frisco business and community members participated in the City of Frisco’s Town Hall meeting on Monday night, in person, via phone, and even on Facebook Live. Led by Mayor Jeff Cheney and City Manager Wes Pierson, the discussion featured City Council’s “Top 10 Priorities”, along with City staff providing details on projects and questions from the audience. The Top 10 Priorities include:
- Master Planning of Grand Park
- Performing Arts Center
- Frisco Reinvestment of Assets
- World Cup 2026
- Parks Activation
- Innovation Eco-Systems
- Downtown Frisco
- North Frisco Activation
- Community Engagement
- Corporate Engagement
Jason Brodigan, Interim Director of Engineering Services for the City of Frisco, provided an in-depth update on the downtown Frisco redevelopment in the Rail District. Prior to Brodigan’s presentation, Mayor Cheney noted, “We’re making major improvements in our Rail District, Council has been very committed to making sure that our downtown is a unique destination…the City’s investing roughly $70-million into our downtown.”
As far as the timeline, Brodigan noted that the Elm Street project is just wrapping up, with the installation of the lights noting completion. “The next step is Main Street reconstructed from First St. to North and South County, and that’s expected to be $25 million, and the focus there is to change it from more of a vehicle-centric pass thru to a very walkable experience. We’ve been putting a lot of effort into the decision to make it look good, feel good, and a place you’ll want to be,” Brodigan added.
Photo courtesy of City of Frisco
For businesses in the Rail District, this is great news upon completion! Construction is slated to start in April, between First and Third Streets, with plans to always have one lane in each direction always open. This portion is slated for completion in early 2025; then, the redevelopment will move to the north section of Main Street and finish with the southern portion. If businesses or the community at large have questions about the Rail District redevelopment, they have a designated liaison with the City, Matthew DuBois, Interim Assistant Director of Engineering. DuBois can be reached at 972-292-5412 or MDubois@friscotexas.gov. The City of Frisco also has a webpage dedicated to downtown redevelopment.
City Council Work Session
Tuesday afternoon the City Council Workshop focused on Northwest Community Park. Updated renderings showed multi-level biking, running, walking trails, along with a splash pad and picnic areas. After input from Council, and biking expert Councilmember Bill Woodard, staff is expected to present final revisions in about four weeks. An area of interest for the park is the ability to host 5k runs and provide an experience “unlike any other park we have around the City,” notes Woodard.
Photo courtesy of City of Frisco
City Council Meeting
Last night’s City Council Meeting agenda featured a request for a “planned development to accommodate a three-story, 45-foot tall, urban living building. The development includes 18 one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom units, a surface parking lot with 24 spaces, and six off-street parking spaces.” The project would provide needed housing in the Rail District, located on the northwest corner of 4th Street and Pecan Street. City Council approved the project after the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the request subject to conditions as listed in the Outcome Memo dated January 24, 2024.
Photo courtesy of City of Frisco
As a reminder, Frisco City Council meetings are open to the public, taking place on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month in the City Council Chamber located at the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center (6101 Frisco Square Blvd. Frisco, TX 75034). You can also watch them live from the City’s website.
