'Like Jazz': Collin County's Fundamentals Allow MPC Developers To Get Creative

Developers of master-planned communities love Collin County because it offers residents a high quality of life. It has a strong job market, successful commercial projects, highly rated schools, solid infrastructure and residential affordability. 

Those fundamentals give developers what they need to create unique projects because master-planned communities that are done well are like jazz, The Beck Group Chief Revenue Officer Scott Lowe said.

“You have the structure all lined up, but every neighborhood development and different master plan can riff on itself,” Lowe said during Bisnow's Collin County State of the Market event Thursday at the Courtyard by Marriott at the Event Center in Allen. “That's what creates these cool districts.”

One of those districts is the 2,200-acre Craig Ranch master-planned community in McKinney, which was developed more than 20 years ago by Craig International CEO David Craig.

That commercial project has become a tourist destination, as the TPC Craig Ranch golf club hosts the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson tournament. The community also has prominent retail centers, office space and several schools from Allen ISD and Frisco ISD.

Plano-based Tellus Group is looking to duplicate some of that success with its upcoming master-planned communities in Anna, Celina and Prosper. The $1.5B Sherley Farms project in Anna will include a 65-acre working organic farm and 3,000 homes that will likely bring the need for a new school. 

Partnerships with local school districts are one note in a developer's composition that helps them create unique master-planned communities, according to Teague Griffin, partner at Old Prosper Partners.

Earlier this year, the Texas Legislature considered House Bill 2736, which would have limited school district bond elections to November and required a two-thirds supermajority of voters to be approved. The bill was referred to committee but wasn’t passed during the legislative session.

Since school bond elections rarely receive that much support, it would have made it extremely difficult for districts to build additional campuses in master-planned communities. 

“They normally pass these bonds over long periods of time so that they can go pull from that as the growth comes,” Griffin said.

Collin County's population growth, strong employment base and pro-development reputation have also attracted corporate relocations, which in turn feed master-planned communities. 

Anna Economic Development Corp. Director Joey Grisham said such development is vital for the city to grow and offer the services its residents want.

“Who pays the bills in the city? The private sector — public sector doesn’t pay taxes,” Grisham said. “So if we don't win development, we don't have anything.”

Anna's location along U.S. Highway 75 puts it in a great position for master-planned communities that can serve residents looking to take their own song in any direction. Frisco and Plano are economic development powerhouses to the west and south, while up north, the semiconductor industry is booming in Sherman, Grisham said. 

“Collin County is the center of the country to me in economic development," Grisham said. “Even if AT&T doesn't relocate from downtown, just the fact that Collin County keeps getting mentioned continues the conversation, not just regionally, but nationally.”

The telecommunications giant reportedly toured office campuses in Richardson and Plano this summer as it eyes a possible move out of its longtime Downtown Dallas home. A build-to-suit facility near Frisco's The Star mixed-use development has also emerged as an option for AT&T's possible relocation. 

The growth and interest in Collin County is a testament to the high-quality commercial development there, Tellus Group Chief Operating Officer Andre Ferrari said.

The county's growth has also bucked the traditional model of the vibrant downtown, surrounded by suburbs and then exurbs, Ferrari said. Solid infrastructure has helped cities like Plano, Frisco and Prosper build strong job markets and create newer population centers that are striving to create city-center atmospheres for residents.

Homebuyers in Collin County master-planned communities are more interested in their proximity to commercial projects in Allen or McKinney now than the development’s distance to office jobs in Dallas, Ferrari said.

The luxury retail offerings available at Legacy West in Plano or The Star in Frisco rival those available in Dallas' hottest shopping destinations, Ferrari said. 

“You drive home on that tollway coming out of Downtown Dallas, and then you're up at Legacy West — ‘Boom, I’m in another downtown,’” Ferrari said.

Frisco megaprojects Firefly Park and Fields West promise to deliver more downtown-level experiences in the years ahead, he said.  

“When we're talking to people nationally … about our communities there, the question is always, ‘Hey, how far are you guys from Dallas?’” Ferrari said. “That's not really the relevant question anymore.”