Frisco Enterprise
By Audrey Henvey | Star Local Media
March 23, 2023

Before talking about the future of Frisco’s downtown, city leaders took a quick walk around the block.

Starting from the Frisco Chamber of Commerce offices in the heart of the Rail District, the group took a look at the site of a potential future parking garage, walked through downtown buildings that currently serve as city offices and took a look at the site of the former Frisco City Hall at the corner of Main and 4th streets.

It was a chance for Frisco leaders, city staff and community members to take a look at city-owned property before settling in for a city council discussion about what the fate of that property could be.

Frisco’s downtown area will the center of much development activity in the near future. The city is in the midst of a three-pronged project to update Elm and Main streets and to turn 4th Street into a pedestrian plaza by summer of 2025. Part of the bond package slated to go before Frisco voters in May includes $20 million for a downtown parking garage. Nearby developments like Three Empires Brewing Co. and Rollertown Beerworks are expected to bring more activity to the area.

As Frisco faces increased development and prospective increased interest in the area, the city is creating a vision for the future of its own properties downtown.

“The city is one of the major, if not the major, property owner in the downtown,” Development Services Director John Lettelleir said during Tuesday’s meeting.

During the discussion, Lettelleir presented a map depicting property owners in the downtown area, including the multiple sites owned by the city.

“The importance of showing you this map is the city can contribute a lot more to downtown than what private development can, just because there’s a number of different lots, and trying to consolidate properties for a larger development is challenging,” Lettelleir said.

On Tuesday, Lettelleir presented a list of policy questions regarding the old city hall property. The list outlined points like activating alleys and streetscapes, allowing for a mixture of uses (retail, restaurant, hotel, coworking space, offices) vertically and promoting the idea of an “18-hour district” that focuses on having people in the area throughout the day beyond mealtimes.

The presentation kicked off a conversation among city council members as they brainstormed a vision for what the location would become.

Councilwoman Tammy Meinershagen said she would like to see future development lean on a local feel and the city’s identity with railroads. Councilwoman Angelia Pelham said she agreed.

“I think downtown should be our personality,” Pelham said. “It should be, in my mind, the stamp of the personality of Frisco.”

Mayor Jeff Cheney voiced support for uses like retail, restaurant or entertainment that would wrap the future plaza, saying the design should be plaza-focused. Council member Brian Livingston said he wanted to encourage support for locally-owned businesses. Councilwoman Laura Rummel said she would like to see incorporation of historic pieces.

The points were just some of ideas and suggestions brought up during Tuesday’s discussion.

Frisco City Manager Wes Pierson said city staff would take what was said, condense it and bring it back to the city council for final review. City staff indicated the items would serve as a visioning framework for discussions with potential developers.

The conversation comes as work on Elm Street is expected to conclude in the summer. Frisco Assistant City Manager Ben Brezina said work on Main Street is slated to start in the first quarter of 2024, and completion of Main Street and the 4th Street plaza is expected for summer 2025.