Allen Development

[CTroyMathis]

Siblings want old farm's natural features kept in housing development
02:06 AM CST on Friday, April 2, 2004


By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/stories/040204dnccobethanyplans.3609c.html

ALLEN – Amy Williams Monier looks across her family's farm of blooming wild flowers, towering trees and native grasses and sees something worth sharing.

She and her brother plan to develop nearly 500 acres off Bethany Drive but want to preserve its natural beauty. Rather than entirely clearing the land, bulldozing trees or planting new grass, Phillip Williams' company wants to leave what's there and build around it.

"You're going to have a variety of green space, from large open fields to meadows to heavily forested watersheds to small parks," said Dallas architect Graham Greene, with Oglesby Greene Architects, who was enlisted to work on the project.

"The land is driving the design ... we really want to preserve the best natural features and create some new ones."

A team of nationally known experts in land-use planning, architecture, landscape design and sculpture has been formed to create Montgomery Farm, which would include homes, shops, restaurants, office space, trails, a wellness center and a vineyard.

"My vision of it is a place that has a diversity of people living in it ... all of whom are drawn there because they want to be close to open space," said Ms. Monier, with Emerson Farm Co., the managing general partner of Montgomery Farm.

Ms. Monier is co-founder of the Connemara Conservancy, which she and her late mother, Frances Williams, created in 1981 on 72 acres of the farm.



Passion for preserving


Today, she and her brother, Mr. Williams, president of Emerson Partners, are pursuing their passion for preserving the land their family has owned for more than seven decades.

The idea began to unfold in 1999, after the city of Allen announced it planned to extend Bethany from just west of Central Expressway to Alma Road through the family's property.

The siblings approached the city about collaborating on the project and ultimately created a road unlike others in Allen. The road features long curves, unusual U-turns and has wider and higher than usual landscaped medians planted with native trees, wild flowers and grasses.

"I think it's really important that kids grow up with a connection to the outdoors, which I feel we're missing a lot of today," said Ms. Monier. "If you don't grow up with a connection to nature, you almost don't miss it, and that's sort of a loss to society."



Variety of housing


Details of the development are preliminary and haven't been submitted to the city, but Ms. Monier said the goal is to have a variety of housing from upscale townhomes to estate homes.

The project will take several years to complete and will begin with a request that the city rezone land east of Watters Crossing as well as a portion south of Bethany Drive, Ms. Monier said.

A preliminary map shows winding streets throughout and an urban village on the east side along Central Expressway.

A variety of ecosystems inhabit the property, said Rosa Finsley, who specializes in naturalistic landscape design and is working on the project.

Red oaks and sycamore trees run along Rowlett Creek, which cuts through the southwest portion of the land. Depending on the time of the year, visitors can find wild violets, lavender daisies, bluebonnets, Indian grass and Canadian wild rye. Sights and sounds range from spotting raccoon tracks to hearing barn owls hoot.

The development not only would look different, it would operate unlike most other neighborhoods. Plans call for a series of large stone cisterns powered by wind turbines to help collect rainwater, a system that would irrigate the land in an environmentally friendly fashion.

David Hoover, Allen's director of planning and development, calls it a planner's dream.

"This is the kind of thing that in our planning magazines, there will be articles about," said Mr. Hoover, who applauds Emerson's efforts. "Here you've got a developer that's going to take [development] to a higher level."

Mr. Hoover points out that the area's natural state would help make the project feasible, whereas others' plans might not have the same luxury.



Needs careful planning


That does not mean the project won't encounter challenges. With an abundance of trees and waterways, the development will require detailed and careful planning, he said.

Conservation developments are not new but are less common in Texas than in other parts of the country.

Flower Mound has two such communities – Chimney Rock Estates and The Sanctuary – under construction. When completed, the 104-acre Chimney Rock will have 49 residential lots averaging an acre each. At The Sanctuary, utilities are being laid. It will have 89 lots with the average size measuring about half an acre.

Big Sky in Denton County and Rocky Ford in Greenville are other examples.

Peter Malin, the general partner of those developments, began working on the nearly 1,000-acre Big Sky in 1996.

He ended up setting aside 200 acres and developed about 50 lots, which have nearly sold. There are lakes, a tree farm and native vegetation.

He said he plans to develop some of the remaining land but will do so in small increments.

"It just wasn't something this market was ready for," said Mr. Malin, recalling the slow-going development process. "We thought we knew what the market was, but we were early and here we are six or seven years later, and we've sold everything."

[freewaytincan]

So what if it's supposedly "environmentallly friendly?" What the main problem we see now is not the environment, but the destruction of our culture!

[tamtagon]

What the main problem we see now is not the environment, but the destruction of our culture!
Urban, what do you mean?

[dallastophoenix]

What the main problem we see now is not the environment, but the destruction of our culture!

???

[evdallas]

:eek:

honestly i just wanted to use that.

[mikedsjr]

I think I know what he means, but i better not interpret for him.

But these are not ecologically friendly places. If they see a bobcat walking through that area, I bet they will kill it.

[tamtagon]

UrbanLandscape perceives all suburban innovations as part of a Juggernaut against Richardson.

[freewaytincan]

UrbanLandscape perceives all suburban innovations as part of a Juggernaut against Richardson.

Okay, but aside from that, I'm just saying that people are dumb. A) just because it's efficient does not mean it's good for the land. B) Their great "solution" is to protect the environment, when the environment is the least of my concerns in the 'burbs. It's our culture and civilization that has suffered the most damage by not only the suburbs, but these "movements" to "protect the earth".

[warlock55]

I got to visit this property when the Bethany Road expansion opened in 2003. I don't think I've seen a prettier piece of property anywhere in North Texas. If I owned it I'd never build even a single new house on it.

Those people are nuts.

:(

[rjlevins]

I’m bored so I figured I’d compile all of the developments that I know are proposed/under construction in the city of Allen.

Eleven Eleven South Central Expressway
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/eleveneleven.jpg
Location: Southeast corner of Ridgemont and 75
Proposed: 2 3-story buildings approx. 75,000 sq. ft each

McDermott Business Park
http://www.allentx.com/newsletter/AEDC2ndQtr.pdf
(only photos I can find are on the AEDC Newsletter)
Location: Southwest corner of McDermott and Ash Dr.
Proposed: 30,000 sq ft. of office space
Status: Under Construction

Allen Commerce Center
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/accaerialsketch581px.jpg
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/accdevelop2.gif
Location: West of 75, North of Stacy (north of the mall)
Completion: Unknown (I think it depends on pre-leasing)

Millennium Corporate Center
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/Mill_Corp_II.jpg
Location: Northwest corner of Bethany and 75
Existing: 2 two-story buildings home to AT&T Wireless Services and AT&T Internet Data Center (220,000 sq. ft.)
Proposed: 4 story class "A" office building (100,000 sq. ft.)
Completion: (Pretty sure it's about to be built.)

Twin Creeks Business Park
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/Twin20Creeks.jpg
Not much I know is going on here, so I'm just posting the small picture until I know of anything else. Recently the hospital purchased some of the land and built a new medical building by the water tower. Too large of an area to predict.

Same goes for Allen Station Business Park. Two buildings complete, but I'm not sure if those are even fully leased yet. It's suppose to have 14 buildings on 102 acres of land.

That's all for the Business Parks for now.

[freewaytincan]

Fairview - "Keepin' it Country"

[dallastophoenix]

Chicago developer could be eyeing a project in Allen

10:45 PM CDT on Thursday, August 12, 2004
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Have you heard about the new shopping mall in the works for Allen?

No one's confirming it, but in the last couple of weeks, word has spread that Chicago-based mall developer General Growth Properties Inc. is looking at a choice development site near the southwest corner of North Central Expressway and State Highway 121.

"I'm hearing it, but I don't know if I believe it," said David Palmer of Dallas-based retail developer Cencor Realty. "Allen's a great place to do business, but I don't know about another regional mall."

Collin County has four big shopping centers. General Growth owns the Stonebriar Center mall on State Highway 121 in Frisco. There's also the Collin Creek mall at North Central near the George Bush Turnpike in Plano, operated by the Rouse Co.

And Taubman Centers Inc. has its Shops at Willow Bend on the Dallas North Tollway in Plano.

The Allen site mentioned as a mall location is about six miles from Stonebriar and nine miles from Collin Creek, Mr. Palmer said.

The North Central corridor from Allen north to Grayson County is booming. Thousands of new homes are under construction along the highway, and shopping centers are popping up from Allen north to Sherman.

"There is no question that people covet that demographic," he said.

McKinney developer David Craig, who's also heard the rumors, said the location is sound.

"That is the only location you can do something like that around the North Central-121 intersection," Mr. Craig said. "If it turns out to be true."

The folks at the Allen Economic Development Commission are mum on the subject.

"That's something I cannot comment on at all," said commission executive director Charisse Canfield. And at General Growth's head office, the official word is that nothing's up.

"Everybody seems to be telling me we are not buying any property in Allen, Texas," said spokesman David Keating.

It's not unusual for a national mall development firm to spend years looking at potential locations.

General Growth and its predecessor, Homart Development, spent almost 10 years planning Stonebriar.

And sometimes developers will tie up a site just to make sure a competitor doesn't get it.

"I understand defensive land plays," Mr. Palmer said. "There is no question they can do that."

Two regional shopping centers are in the development pipeline in North Texas.

Simon Property Group is building Firewheel Center, an open-air shopping mall in Garland that's been planned since the late 1990s.

And General Growth signed the first two anchor department stores for its planned Circle T mall in Westlake. That center – which has also been in the works for almost a decade – could start late this year.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[drumguy8800]

*feels sick*

ohhh, how i hate oklahoma.. and how that article specifically mentioned 'sherman..' *queasy.*


Two regional shopping centers are in the development pipeline in North Texas.

This one.. and Firewheel? Or Firewheel and somewhere else. I've heard rumors of a mall at the SW corner of US-287 and I-35E in Waxahachie.

[rantanamo]

Firewheel and Circle T.

Firewheel is already underconstruction. The pads are poured, and a couple of department store structures are up. The site is huge compared to Collin Creek or Town East. Firewheel is about a 10-15 minute drive down Murphy Rd from Allen. About 5 minutes down the PGBT from Plano. Stonebriar is like 5 minutes from half of Allen and southen McKinney. I can't see this as real. I could imagine one in north McKinney in a few years if Collin stays hot. Big IF.

[dallastophoenix]

i think this could be the demise of collin creek (they've never recovered from the tech bust).

[psukhu]

Firewheel and Circle T.

Firewheel is already underconstruction. The pads are poured, and a couple of department store structures are up. The site is huge compared to Collin Creek or Town East. Firewheel is about a 10-15 minute drive down Murphy Rd from Allen. About 5 minutes down the PGBT from Plano. Stonebriar is like 5 minutes from half of Allen and southen McKinney. I can't see this as real. I could imagine one in north McKinney in a few years if Collin stays hot. Big IF.

Isn't Firewheel going to be an outdoor mall?

It's important to note that Firewheel is in Dallas County and the City of Garland. Sales tax collected will help pay for DART and the county property tax goes into the Dallas county pot. Firewheel will draw people from Collin County (Wylie and beyond) and Rockwall.

[rjlevins]

The southwest corner of 121 and 75 is an abonded mall built way long ago...kinda hidden. I'm sure this is the site that they are looking at. Probably demolish the building and start anew. I think that area could support getting new mall, though Frisco would probably whine, but when do they not? They are probably looking down the road when Allen is maxed out at 100,000 and McKinney approaches 200,000. My concern is that there is already an outlet mall right next to it (and those outlets are mostly just outdoor stores).

[rantanamo]

Isn't Firewheel going to be an outdoor mall?

It's important to note that Firewheel is in Dallas County and the City of Garland. Sales tax collected will help pay for DART and the county property tax goes into the Dallas county pot. Firewheel will draw people from Collin County (Wylie and beyond) and Rockwall.

Yeah, Firewheel will look like Southlake Town Center, but inside out basically. There's to be a faux mainstreet running down the middle of it. Surprisingly there will be office space in phase I. Phase II is supposed to have residential units taking some of the parking lot away. Will be by far the best looking mall in North Texas from an aesthetics stand point. I think it spells more doom for Collin Creek than many think. Its not even ten minutes to the east from CC. It will draw from eastern Plano, Richardson, Wylie, Sachse, eastern Allen, Rockwall, Rowlett and north Garland(parts of Garland are still closer to Town East or Richardson Square). But parts of all the cities are less than 3 miles from the mall.

I'm just hoping the Allen mall waits a little bit. Doesn't Fairview kind of put a damper on their population density?

[rjlevins]

I'm just hoping the Allen mall waits a little bit. Doesn't Fairview kind of put a damper on their population density?
The money that comes out of Fairview excuses it for "keepin it country".

[rantanamo]

I had never explored that area(Fairview) until I went the The Heard Musues/sanctuary a few weeks ago. Looks like a wannabe Sunnyvale. Nicer homes though. Reminds one of the tv show, Dallas.

[mikedsjr]

Frankly, nothing is keeping itself country.

rantan, I don't know how sunnyvale looks. Maybe its the other way around. Fairview isn'tmuch different than it used to be. Just more homes.

[rantanamo]

Sunnyvale is a very country-like mansion community. As I understand, a lot of the mansions in Fairview are recent inventions. Sunnyvale has been that way for a long time. Very pretty and wooded as you near Lake Ray Hubbard. They have been fighting 190 furiously and have caused lots of alignment delays for the Rowlett/Garland section of 190. You very well might see the old Loop 9 concept stop and I-30 and start again at Hwy 80 because of them.

[mikedsjr]

Go Sunnyvale! I love when communities fight against highway expansion.

[rantanamo]

Its kind of pointless. Forney is sneaking up on them from the East. Mesquite has crept up on them on the West and South, and Garland has crept up on them from the north. Sort of a countrified Park Cities.

[Lakewooder]

Isn't Allen kind of Mesquite North? Except for that Twin Creeks development..

[rantanamo]

A young Garland maybe? The types of commercial activity is similar. Surrounding country-like communities as well. All it needs is for Fairview to suck out their middle class and become a mostly low rental community.

[Lakewooder]

The only time I've every been to anyone's home in Allen, it was a really tacky tract house with cars, bass boats, RVs and pickups parked everywhere in the streets and a lot of unkempt lawns -- of course I didn't tell my hosts that...

Anyhow, I hardly venture north of Mockingbird unless it's to Texoma or DFW, so what do I know?

[texman]

ok I live in Mckinney and see Fairview and Allen quite often. Allen is alot nicer than yall are making it out to be. The old part(old suburbia) is quite tacky as lakewooder said. But other than that i wouldnt ever compare it to Garland though it does look its headed that way. I hate Fairview though. Its like a bedroom community on steriods. The roads cant handle the congestion and the subdivisions are out in the middle of nowhere.

[rantanamo]

I come from Garland, and I think Garland is sold short a lot. North and south Garland are as nice as any suburb around. The industrial, old rent hoods of central, and west Garland are not the whole city. Allen west of 75 is very nice. I compared Allen to Garland, because of the types of industry, and big emphasis on industrial warehouse type development. Garland does this on a much, bigger scale in West Garland, but Allen seems headed that way.

[rjlevins]

Ok, hold up. Garland and Allen are hardly anything alike. Industrial warehouse is a very small part of the economy of Allen. It is actually known more as a tech community than anything. Allen is prettty much mini-Plano. If you want to compare it to anything, just picture it as an extension off of east and north Plano. There are a total of 2 older neighborhoods in Allen that have the not-so-nice look to them, and I grew up in one of them. And believe me...that neighborhood is nowhere near as bad as some of the neighborhoods in Garland and Mesquite. To the comment of the rental community...there are like 4 apt complexes in the entire city, a far cry from the 36% apt dwellers in McKinney.

One thing that must not be forgotten was the ranking that CNN Money Magazine gave it as the 11th best place to live in West for cities under 100,000. http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/cities_table/

[rantanamo]

no one said they are alike now. We are talking about the future not the present. Garland used to be known for companies like Varo and E-Systems. It used to be the new suburb. It was not as retail and corporate aggressive as Plano or Irving. I think we all have the perspective of the last couple of decades, or really the last decade for most probably. Places evolve over the years. The new crop of burbs have a future too. They won't always be the new place with a ton of land.

[noelamador]

Allen to get retail complex

Mixed-use project joins several others going up along U.S. 75

10:53 PM CST on Friday, December 3, 2004

By MARIA HALKIAS and STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

General Growth Properties Inc. said Friday that it has purchased 250 acres in Allen to build a "park-like, pedestrian-friendly village" with retail, restaurants, offices and single-family homes.

The proposed Allentowne project, at State Highway 121 and U.S. Highway 75, joins other recently opened and planned developments that are transforming shopping for residents in the fast-growing northern suburbs that include Allen, McKinney and Frisco.

It also confirms U.S. 75's emergence as North Texas' fastest-growing retail corridor. Developers are lining up along U.S. 75, from the expansion at NorthPark Center in Dallas stretching north to Sherman.

"Allentowne will become its own town within a city," said Kirk Dotson, a General Growth vice president of leasing. "Allentowne will be the premier address for the city of Allen, ideally located at one of the key intersections" in the state.

Mr. Dotson, who didn't disclose the project's cost, said he plans to begin leasing the property next week and hopes to attract big-box and specialty stores, a grocery tenant and possibly a department store.

Parts of the development are expected to be open by late 2006 or early 2007.

General Growth's mixed-use development is just one of several large retail projects planned near Highway 121 and U.S. 75.

Emerson Partners is planning a 500-acre residential and shopping center project at Bethany Drive and U.S. 75 in Allen.

And next to the General Growth property, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' Blue Star Investments is building a 529-acre retail and residential project called Star Creek on Highway 121 at Chelsea Boulevard.

Blue Star general manager Joe Hickman said his firm is weeks away from signing leases with several retailers.

The Allentowne development will be just north the Allen Premium Outlets shopping center at Stacy Road and U.S. 75. That project draws shoppers from throughout the region and added a second phase two years ago.

In McKinney, on U.S. 75 at the intersection of Eldorado Parkway, is a recently opened development called Eldorado Plaza where North Carolina-based Belk Inc. will open its first area department store.

More growth

General Growth's plans are likely to cause a new round of frenzied interest in the region, Blue Star's Mr. Hickman said.

"You can imagine what will happen," he said. "The rest of the area will explode."

A real estate broker familiar with the area, Rex Glendenning, said that this type of development "does nothing but bring more growth."

"It will be a windfall for Allen and south McKinney," he said.

The Intersection of Highway 121 and U.S. 75 is a logical hub for retail, said Terry Syler of shopping center broker Retail Connection.

"The traffic counts up there are already tremendous. And it's about 10 miles from the other big concentration of retail around Stonebriar Centre at Preston and Highway 121 in Frisco," he said.

Developers' battle

The Allentowne project also fuels the local turf battle between the nation's largest mall developers, No. 2 General Growth of Chicago and No. 1 Simon Property Group Inc. of Indianapolis.

In October, Simon completed its acquisition of Chelsea Property Group Inc., making it the owner of Allen Premium Outlets.

In August, General Growth acquired developer Rouse Co., which added 36 malls to its portfolio, including Collin Creek Mall in Plano.

At the same time, Simon is building its Firewheel Center in Garland and General Growth is about to begin a major renovation of Town East Mall, a 30-year-old shopping center in Mesquite.

Simon recently completed a $150 million expansion of its North East Mall in Hurst. General Growth also announced plans for a new regional shopping center in Westlake and is negotiating to buy Southwest Center Mall in southwest Dallas.

"They are in a race with Simon in this market for sure ? that's no secret," Mr. Syler said. "General Growth and Simon are the two 800-pound gorillas in the shopping center industry."

General Growth said it will be working with the city of Allen to finalize the project's design.

General Growth's decision to build an open-air mixed-use retail center rather than a traditional enclosed mall won't make much difference to shoppers, city officials said.

"When General Growth first approached us, we said we preferred an open-air concept," said Charisse Canfield, executive director of the Allen Economic Development Corp. "We like the lifestyle concept where you have residential close to the retail and mixed in with office."

Lifestyle centers, or open-area developments, have become more popular in recent years, with fewer enclosed malls being built.

"I firmly believe we can't create Main Street on every corner on the prairie, but good examples of that are beginning to emerge," said Dallas shopping center architect Charles Hodges. "People are so time-pressured now that they don't have three hours to invest in a mall visit. They want to pull up to the front door, and these venues provide that."

[texman]

In McKinney, on U.S. 75 at the intersection of Eldorado Parkway, is a recently opened development called Eldorado Plaza where North Carolina-based Belk Inc. will open its first area department store.



It attempts to be pedestrian friendly and have an old town charm with historic pictures of Mckinney all over the sides of the buildings but the development is really just a couple buildings in a big parking lot



The Intersection of Highway 121 and U.S. 75 is a logical hub for retail, said Terry Syler of shopping center broker Retail Connection.


Yeah, can you imagine in 20 years? It will be like LBJ and Central except in place of TI it would be a giant Sam's Club.




"When General Growth first approached us, we said we preferred an open-air concept," said Charisse Canfield, executive director of the Allen Economic Development Corp. "We like the lifestyle concept where you have residential close to the retail and mixed in with office."

Lifestyle centers, or open-area developments, have become more popular in recent years, with fewer enclosed malls being built.

"I firmly believe we can't create Main Street on every corner on the prairie, but good examples of that are beginning to emerge," said Dallas shopping center architect Charles Hodges. "People are so time-pressured now that they don't have three hours to invest in a mall visit. They want to pull up to the front door, and these venues provide that."

Its about time!

[rjlevins]

Good for Allen. Ok for McKinney. Kinda bad for Frisco. Bad for Plano. Sucks for "keepin' it country" Fairview.

[rjlevins]

List taken from allentx.com off of the newsletter:

1. Blue Star
Located on the south side of SH 121, west of US 75 and on the north side of Stacy Road, Star Creek, a Blue Star Investments project, will include destination entertainment and shopping venues, a hotel and conference center, and an office complex. The development includes approximately 900 single-family homes. The developer has agreed to create a large public greenbelt and trails through the property. As the residential and retail components are developed, the developer will also extend Watters Road north of Stacy Road to SH 121. The Entertainment District of Star Creek is located along SH 121.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/BlueStar.bmp

2. Montgomery Farm
Market Street™-Allen, is the commercial component of Montgomery Farm, a 500-acre development located
along Bethany Drive running west between US 75 and Alma Drive. A 50-acre urban style development on the southwest corner of US 75 and Bethany Drive, Market-Street™ is planned to include 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 50,000 square feet of office space and a hotel/conference center. Working with a team of nationally known experts in land-use planning, architecture, and landscape design, Montgomery Farm is designed as a conservation-oriented, mixed-use development. The project will include a wellness center and 1,200 to 1,500 residential units including townhomes, zero-lot homes and estate lots.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/MontgomeryFarm.bmp

3. Belz and Gourley
Two properties located on the southwest corner of SH 121 and US 75 have been rezoned by the city to allow for development of a master planned “lifestyle center” that includes high-density, high-rise lofts, ground-level
restaurant and retail, entertainment components and office space. The Gourley family property is undeveloped. The
other is the site of the former Belz Outlet Center, owned by the Belz family (developers of a highly successful “new
urbanist” project in downtown Memphis,Tennessee).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/belz.bmp

4. Shelley Farm
A 91-acre planned development, Shelley Farm includes space for a 21-acre, 169,000 square foot shopping center. Five, 10,000 square foot restaurant pad sites overlook the Lakes of Shelley Farm. The community features open space for trails and scenic landscaping. The residences, 155 single family homes and 72 townhomes, will range in price from $250,000 to $600,000, and will add to the already very desirable demographics in the trade area of the center. Shelley Farm is located in the southeast corner of Allen, bounded on the east by FM 2551, on the north by Shelley Drive and on the west by Malone Road. Plans are to extend Chaparral Road from Greenville Avenue/SH 5 through Shelley Farm to FM 2551.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/shelley.bmp

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/rjlevins/mapallen.bmp

[Jack Flack]

Hmm...what is that expression about lipstick on a pig?

[rantanamo]

Jerry's milking that star for all its worth

[tamtagon]

Allen to get retail complex

Mixed-use project joins several others going up along U.S. 75


It also confirms U.S. 75's emergence as North Texas' fastest-growing retail corridor. Developers are lining up along U.S. 75, from the expansion at NorthPark Center in Dallas stretching north to Sherman.


Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Keep them doggies rollin'


I view what is happening in Allen as an intermediate improvement in the developmental union between traditional suburban sprawl and new urbanist mixed-use. The level of cooperation between Collin County municipal planning/development efforts foreshadow significant improvement to the standard of living. This generation of Collin County satellite city development really bodes well for Dallas, the central city. Every ad hoc taste of urbanity in the suburbs reinforces the ongoing downtown environments. Office space development in Allen is geared more toward business services focusing on the needs of the local population rather than the preditory recruitment of 'corporate campus candidates' scarcely vested in servicing the local population.

What we see happening today in Allen/Frisco/Plano is the beginning of what will be seen in H-E-B and South Dallas.

[texman]

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Keep them doggies rollin'


I view what is happening in Allen as an intermediate improvement in the developmental union between traditional suburban sprawl and new urbanist mixed-use. The level of cooperation between Collin County municipal planning/development efforts foreshadow significant improvement to the standard of living. This generation of Collin County satellite city development really bodes well for Dallas, the central city. Every ad hoc taste of urbanity in the suburbs reinforces the ongoing downtown environments. Office space development in Allen is geared more toward business services focusing on the needs of the local population rather than the preditory recruitment of 'corporate campus candidates' scarcely vested in servicing the local population.

What we see happening today in Allen/Frisco/Plano is the beginning of what will be seen in H-E-B and South Dallas.

Well said. And atleast there building this south of 380 ;) Also, what do you mean "what will be seen in H-E-B..."???

[tamtagon]

Well said. And atleast there building this south of 380 ;) Also, what do you mean "what will be seen in H-E-B..."???

Beginning in the second half of this decade, population growth in Northeast Tarrant & Southwest Denton counties is projected to be similar to the influx started in Collin County 20/25 years ago - Southlake is just the beginning of the probable suburbanization from Flower Mound to Fort Worth. Roll-out management of neighborhood after neighborhood will have a strategy focusing more on the sub-region rather than individual municipality. In part, the shift is natural to developments, improving on the good idea of a different town, but location will be the primary driver. Existing major job centers are already convenient to NE Tarrant (Alliance Airport, Las Colinas, Fort Worth) and this leaves little need to build a new business district like Plano's Legacy. More focus will be paid, thankfully, to putting a more connection between residents and their community. In some other thread I've rambled on and on about this, I'll see if I can find it....

[noelamador]

Allen: Shopping's next center

As city grows, retailers set sites

11:36 PM CST on Thursday, December 9, 2004

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN ? At the southwest corner of Bethany Road and U.S. Highway 75, the hay crop recently harvested will probably be the last.

[Click image for a larger version] [JUAN GARCIA/DMN]
JUAN GARCIA/DMN
Allen Premium Outlets opened in 2000 and has helped the city become a regional destination for shoppers.

By next year, the 500 acres Amy Monier's family has farmed for generations will be a construction site for a shopping center and hundreds of homes will be in the works.

"The shopping center will have close to 500,000 square feet, and they are talking to specialty stores, restaurants and a grocer," said Ms. Monier, whose family acquired the Montgomery Farms property in the 1940s.

"So much is finally happening in the area, and it's overdue."

Improvements to State Highway 121 and burgeoning growth farther north in Collin and Grayson counties have put Allen in the crosshairs for more retail development.

Mall developer General Growth Properties announced plans last week for a major shopping center, and several other big retail developments are about to come off the drawing boards.

Although there has been a flurry of recent announcements, they reflect years of effort by the city of Allen and major landowners, said Charisse Canfield, executive director of the Allen Economic Development Corp.

"What they are talking about is what we envisioned years ago," Ms. Canfield said.

"There is a lot of retail that we missed out on and has gone to other areas.

"Now it's our turn," she said.

Ms. Canfield points to Allen's growing population and demographics to argue that the city can support even more retail.

? Allen's population has grown from 22,728 in 1992 to more than 67,000.

? The Dallas suburb has a median income of $86,828.

? Retail sales have surged from $78.4 million in 1992 to almost $530 million last year. And in 2004 sales tax revenue is running about 5 percent ahead.

? The taxable property base in the city has increased from $729 million in 1992 to almost $5 billion last year, according to the Allen Economic Development Corp.

"Most of the existing retail we have stays pretty full," Ms. Canfield said.

Plus, Allen's existing shopping centers draw from nearby residential districts in Plano, McKinney, Fairview and other communities.

A regional center

David Palmer of Cencor Realty said Allen is becoming a regional retail center just like Frisco, Cedar Hill and other suburban communities.

"This was an area that hadn't fully developed, so it was a natural," Mr. Palmer said. "And with the widening of State Highway 121 becoming a reality, the timing is good."

Cencor was one of the first retail developers to size up the potential, building its Twin Creeks Village shopping center at U.S. 75 and McDermott in 1998.

More than 750,000 square feet of retail space is now located at that intersection.

The other big retail draw is the Allen Premium Outlets shopping center, which opened in 2000 at Stacy Road and U.S. 75.

The 344,000 square-foot shopping center owned by Chelsea Properties Inc. still has room for a large expansion.

Along with the 500,000 square-foot Montgomery Farms retail project, Blue Star Investments is about to start work on a 529-acre retail and residential project called Star Creek on Highway 121 at Chelsea Boulevard just west of U.S. 75.

The project will have about 900 single-family homes and will include a large retail and entertainment district on the south side of Highway 121.

Mixed use

"I have 75 acres of frontage on Highway 121 that shoppers will have to drive by to get to General Growth's new project," said Blue Star general manager Joe Hickman. "We are getting ready to break ground."

General Growth's development at the southwest corner of Highway 121 and U.S. 75 will be called Allentowne.

It will have 250 acres of shops, restaurants, commercial space and residential in a "park-like, pedestrian-friendly village."

General Growth is already one of the biggest shopping center owners in North Texas, with projects including Stonebriar Center mall, Vista Ridge mall and Town East Mall.

While not an enclosed shopping center, its Allen project is likely to be one of the largest so-called lifestyle centers in Collin County, with a combination of home, apparel and specialty tenants.

Broker Terry Syler with the Retail Connection said that intersection of Highway 121 and U.S. 75 intersection was "the next logical hub for retail development."

"There are rooftops and income up there, and all the retail that's already been built in the area has been very successful," Mr. Syler said.

"Allen has always been strong because the density is mature.

"The retail coming back to Allen is fill-in after what has already built in that market," he said.

[rjlevins]

A new chapter for Allen's library




12:47 AM CST on Thursday, February 10, 2005


From Staff Reports



Allen officially welcomes the new kid on the block Sunday – its state-of-the art public library.



MELANIE BURFORD/DMN
Clerk Reggie Burns studies the 400-gallon freshwater aquarium in the library's children's area. Construction on the Allen Public Library began in November 2003. The new facility will be twice the size of the former library, which was next to City Hall.

The public was given a sneak peek Wednesday so that staff could work out any unresolved issues, officials said.

This latest project will include a radio frequency identification system, two express checkout stations, a cafe and a civic auditorium. A 400-gallon freshwater aquarium will be at the entrance to the children's area.

The grand opening celebration will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the library, 300 N. Allen St. A ceremony will take place, weather permitting, at the flagpoles at the east entrance. It will move to the auditorium in case of rain.

City officials say it's an important addition that will help with Allen's downtown revitalization efforts.

[LakeHighlands]

Mall developers stake out turf
Fairview and Allen are the hot spots in race to build big projects

12:00 AM CDT on Friday, September 16, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Developers are buying almost 400 acres on U.S. Highway 75 in Fairview and Allen for a regional shopping center.

Dallas-based MGHerring Group's property is south of State Highway 121.

Mall developer General Growth Properties also is planning a big center near that intersection. And the projects are likely to cause a race between the two major mall builders to see who can get started first.

MGHerring has a big head start with its Village at Fairview development. It plans to break ground next year on the 1 million-square-foot shopping center, which will have at least three major department stores.

Dillard's and Foley's have agreed to put stores in the project, at the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Stacy Road.

And the developers are negotiating with J.C. Penney, said company president M.G. "Buddy" Herring.

"We are going to do some apartments and office space above the retail, so it will really be a mixed-use project," Mr. Herring said Thursday. "We'll also have a number of restaurants and a theater."

Like MGHerring Group's new Uptown Village at Cedar Hill and Simon Property Group's Firewheel Center in Garland, the Fairview project will be the latest thing in regional shopping centers – basically a mall without a mall.

"It's built around a village green and a park with a cinema that creates a congregating point for the whole community," said executive vice president Gar Herring. "We still believe in the mall – we just opened one in California.

"But a lifestyle center is a place people like to go and spend their leisure time," he said.

The first phase will open in 2008.

Along with the Fairview development, MGHerring will build a 200-acre open-air shopping center on the south side of Stacy Road in Allen.

That project, the Village at Allen, will be designed for big-box merchants.

"We plan to have all this tied together architecturally," Buddy Herring said.

City officials in Fairview, a fast-growing Collin County town between Allen and McKinney, welcome the development.

"It's inevitable that we have the growth. We just want to make sure it's the kind we want," said Fairview City Manager John Godwin. "The information we have gotten from the MGHerring Group is this project is the kind we want."

Likewise, economic development officials in Allen are eager for retail construction in the city.

"It shows how hot this area is for retail that we have this level of activity up here," said Charisse Canfield, executive director of the Allen Economic Development Corp. "We are waiting to see what happens with it all."

Allen already has one major shopping center at Stacy and U.S. 75 – the Allen Premium Outlets, which is expanding.

In December, Chicago-based General Growth said that it will build a 250-acre open-air shopping center called Allentowne near the southwest corner of U.S. 75 and State Highway 121. Parts of that project are scheduled to open in 2007.

General Growth and MGHerring are both nationwide shopping center developers.

MGHerring has built 21 regional retail centers with almost 23 million square feet. Its latest major projects include the Eastern Shore Centre near Mobile, Ala.; the Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro, Calif.; and the Village at Riverwatch in Augusta, Ga.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-newmall_16bus.ART.State.Edition2.1dee0907.html

[noelamador]

General Growth moves forward on "Allentowne"
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/02/06/daily39.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Sandra Zaragoza/Staff Writer

LH do you have any info on this project? it seems like the City of Allen is going to be teaming with retail in addition to the outlet shops already there.


Mall developer General Growth Properties Inc. said Wednesday that it is one step closer to building Allentowne, a 1 million-square-foot retail development in Allen.

Chicago-based General Growth, the second largest mall developer in the United States, said it will close on 238 acres of land at the southwest corner of State Highway 121 and U.S. 75. this spring.

It said it will begin construction of Allentowne in 2007.

"We envision that this project will be comprised of residential, office, major retailing and perhaps a hotel," said Jim Graham, General Growth's spokesman. "It will likely be built in phases."

General Growth's plan for residential and office space has yet to be decided.

General Growth is the sole developer of the project at this point and is in negotiations with city leaders on possible financial incentives, Graham said.

Steve Terrell, Allen's mayor, said the project was the "culmination of months of meetings with the developers and key retail tenants."

General Growth did not release the names of tenants.

Although General Growth previously announced Allentowne, it had kept relatively mum about the project, leading some to question whether it would happen at all.

Meanwhile, a number of other sizable retail projects in Allen and Collin County have gained momentum, locking in major retailers like Dillards and Foley's and driving up competition between developments.


One major Allen development, Montgomery Farm, a 500-acre residential, office and retail project on Bethany Road and U.S. 75, will make an announcement on its retailers soon, sources say.

And shopping center developer MG Herring Group has set aside 200 acres south of Stacy Road in Allen for The Village at Allen, an open-air shopping center. Its other development, The Village at Fairview, at the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Stacy Road, will begin construction this year.

Dillards and Foley's will anchor the 1 million-square-foot Village at Fairview.

Frisco-based Blue Star Land is developing a retail center at Star Creek, a residential project that borders S.H. 121 and lies east and west of Watters Road in Allen. About 500,000 square feet of retail is planned at Star Creek.

Collin County already has four malls, including the Stonebriar Centre on 121 in Frisco, which is owned by General Growth.

Graham says the Allentowne project will be an open-air design in keeping with General Growth's -- and the retail real estate industry's -- trend toward shopping developments incorporating residential and/or office components.

Indiana-based Simon Property Group opened North Texas' first open-air mall, Firewheel Town Center, on the northeast corner of the George Bush Turnpike and S.H. 78. in Garland.

szaragoza@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7113

[DallasStar]

This all sounds great, but I hope this area won't be to saturated, Stonebriar isn't that far away, neither is Collin Creek, and the Fire Wheel in Garland. Maybe they are looking more towards the future populations that will be in those area's as they continue to grow. :confused:

[warlock55]

If they were really looking to the future, they wouldn't be building car-only sprawl malls. :rolleyes:

[rjlevins]

^Allen's retail occupancy is around 98% right now. The city pretty much has nothing compared to the other similar suburbs. Collin Creek mall will hurt from this development, but I doubt Stonebriar will be severly effected. The residents of Allen and McKinney will likely be the predominant customers of this new mall.

As a sidenote, my mom's home in Allen sold within 24 hours of being on the market. We couldn't believe it. Take what you will from that experience, but I feel it shows the area is still growing and receiving attention.

(Don't get me wrong. I hate suburbs.)

[RobertB]

And we're living here in Allentown(e)
And it's hard to keep a good man down
But I won't be getting up today-ayayay ayayayayay ay
And we're living here in Allentown(e)
- Billy Joel, Allentown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allentown_(song)) (1982)

[rantanamo]

speculative retail. Something Dallas can't seem to get.

[FoUTASportscaster]

That's because Dallas doesn't have the projected growth that CoCo does.