Heritage Creekside, a mixed-use center in progress on the northwest corner of President George Bush Turnpike and US 75, is making changes to its original development plan.
The new plans will reduce 1.6 million square feet of proposed office space to just 293,000 in favor of adding more multifamily and single-family housing, according to city documents.
Plano City Council approved the changes 5-2 at a March 23 meeting. Council members Shun Thomas and Vidal Quintanilla Jr. voted against the changes, and council member Maria Tu abstained.
The details
According to city staff, 5.7 acres of commercial development and 43.2 acres of residential development have already been built on the site, with roughly 37 acres of remaining undeveloped land.
The amendment makes a number of changes to the planned development, including:
Decreasing office from 1.6 million square feet to 293,000 square feetEliminating hotelsIncreasing single-family from 291 to 342 unitsIncreasing multifamily from 1,300 to 2,000 unitsThe developer, Rosewood Property Company, requested the changes because “much of the remaining phases are no longer economically viable as originally envisioned,” according to city documents.
Rosewood representative Tim Harris said high demand for office space has not materialized following the COVID-19 pandemic, and reducing office space in the development would also reduce the demand for nearby hotels.
Instead, Rosewood has worked with city staff to create a phasing plan that will allow them to build custom spaces for stores, restaurants and entertainment venues that have expressed interest in the site, Harris said.
About the project
Heritage Creekside is zoned as an urban mixed-use district, which are meant to encourage high-density, walkable centers of residential and commercial development, according to city documents.
The development was designated as Plano’s first urban mixed-use district in 2014 and has undergone three amendments prior to the most recent update.
Council approved two minor changes in 2017, and a more substantial amendment cut nearly 800,000 square feet of office space in 2021, per city staff’s report.
The most recent amendment is the first time Rosewood has asked to increase multifamily housing in the development since the project’s creation in 2014, Harris said.
“[The developers] have spent a decade trying to get the original zoning to work,” council member Steve Lavine said.
The debate
Mayor Pro Tem Maria Tu acknowledged the applicant’s concerns about the economic viability of the original office-heavy plan.
“Office is not doing well,” she said. “However, there seems to be a need for additional multifamily housing.”
City staff’s report also notes that under Senate Bill 840, a 2025 state law which limits municipalities’ abilities to regulate multifamily developments, Rosewood could choose to build apartments on the property without making concessions to city officials.
Three of the six commissioners who recommended approval at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s March 2 meeting—Doug Bender, Sean Lingenfelter and Tianle Tong—cited SB 840 in their decision.
“If we didn’t approve this plan, the applicant could use the new state law and build more apartment buildings without going through [the commission],” Tong wrote in her findings. “I believe this current plan is the best we can get for this land.”
Harris rejected the idea that Rosewood was using SB 840 as leverage, saying the developer chose not to resubmit their application under the new law because they “wanted to do it the right way.”
Going forward
The new plan doesn’t eliminate office space from the development entirely.
Rosewood plans to build a multistory office building on the corner of Custer Road and PGBT, along with a series of individual office buildings near the center of the property, Harris said.
Bill Dahlstrom, an attorney who presented on behalf of the applicants, said Rosewood spent over a year trying to get the latest amendment approved.
“We’ve been at this for over a year now, and we want to move forward,” he said. “We believe it’s in everyone’s best interest. Let’s move forward.”
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