| What does the Texas Collegiate League playing at Craig Ranch have to do with commercial real estate? (Hint: it has nothing to do with triple net leases...or home run net leases for that matter.) Baseball—like this last home game of the season for the McKinney Marshals at their home field on Saturday—is an amenity at McKinney's Craig Ranch unique among mixed-use projects, developer David Craig tells us. The TCL is a summer league for top pro prospects from colleges throughout the country (above, OSU's Eric Walker). David has been taking an unorthodox approach to his master-planned community by adding the amenities first and now he's focusing on corporate relocations. Eg, construction on Traxxis' new HQ is in the works. |
| We snapped David earlier this year, but this week he tells us that from the girls fast pitch softball fields to the Dallas Stars Center or Michael Johnson's Performance Center, the venues not only benefit the homeowners and business occupants but create destinations bringing in critical masses. The taxing entities benefit from these quality-of-life venues and create a commercial tax base on adjacent properties. David says more than 1M people have come through Craig Ranch to the ball fields alone. “The concept supports our non-residential and commercial/retail side of the community. That is why you see La Quinta now open,” he tells us. |
| TPC Craig Ranch also hosted the inaugural Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational earlier this year. (Emmitt's pic courtesy of his non-profit Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities.) David says he hung out with the Cowboys legend (and developer) this past weekend, attending his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton. The pair then walked the course at the Bridgestone Invitational with tourney winner and McKinney High School grad Hunter Mahan. But wait, there's more. They watched the Cowboys pre-season win together. Yeah, we're jealous, too. |
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