The Howard Hughes Corp., a large-scale mixed-use developer across the U.S., is planting its flag in Allen.

Monarch City, a 270-acre tract at the southwest corner of North Central Expressway and the Sam Rayburn Tollway, will include nearly 9M SF of Class-A office, retail and residential space, plus a luxury hotel, built around a central park. Zoning is expected to begin this year.

Howard Hughes has owned the land since 2010 and has been working with architect Omniplan for a year, the Dallas Morning News reports. The project will be built in phases.

The name Monarch City calls back to Allen's history.

"The area was known for butterflies when the settlers first came here" in the 1800s, Allen Economic Development Council head Dan Bowman told the DMN.

Howard Hughes is based in Dallas but has not built a giant live-work-play project here as it has while master planning all of Downtown Columbia, Maryland, and all of Houston's The Woodlands or while building in New York's Seaport.

JLL Managing Director Jeff Eckert, Managing Director James Esquivel and Senior Vice President Jay Bailey are leasing the office space. Allen is poised for transformational growth, JLL said in a statement. Its population has boomed from 20,000 in 1990 to nearly 100,000 now.