Aubrey has a population of roughly 3,000, and a couple of big residential developments called Jackson Ridge and Lakes of Regatta will bring about 4,500 more single-family lots to the town in the next few years. But Aubrey isn’t well-positioned for growth just because of overflow from nearby Frisco and Plano.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments recently released its Mobility 2040 plan—a snapshot of how car-oriented transit (among other things) will develop in 2017, 2027, 2037 and 2040 with detailed financial, geographical, social and government plans. The Outer Loop will add two—and in some cases three—lanes from west of SH 121 to County Road 637 east of Nevada. Think of the Outer Loop north of I-635 running from about 11 o’clock in Aubrey to about 2 o’clock just north of I-30 in East Texas.

The Outer Loop is the only east-west controlled access freeway between I-635 and Oklahoma, Aubrey city administrator Matt McCombs said. And it will be a massive opportunity for the economic development of the town. 

McCombs said the town’s role at this point is to make sure the proper zoning is in place to facilitate development and to make sure entitlements have been preserved so the city and school district can benefit from businesses moving to Aubrey.

If the rings of development from I-635, SH-121 and US-380 are any indication of growth patterns, even Aubrey’s own growth projections of 55,000 residents at build-out seem conservative.