Trophy Club leaders refine vision for last town‑owned site, flag HD Supply parking encumbrance and housing limits

At a September workshop, Trophy Club elected leaders and members of the town’s Economic Development Corporation discussed revisions to the Grove at TC small‑area plan for the town’s last available development site, focusing on a long‑standing parking encumbrance for adjacent HD Supply, whether any residential component should be limited to owner‑occupied units, and how to market a flexible mixed‑use concept to developers.

The Grove at TC plan is a high‑level, diagrammatic framework that envisions vertical mixed‑use development, shared parking strategies and integrated public space while remaining silent on building heights and engineering details such as stormwater. Brandon (staff member), who led the presentation, said the town and EDC own portions of the site and noted that “I believe it’s roughly a 190 spaces or so” must remain available to meet HD Supply’s off‑site parking requirement. He described the plan as adaptable guidance meant to attract developer proposals rather than to prescribe final layouts.

The parking encumbrance — recorded on town‑owned property used today as the asphalt lot serving HD Supply — was a focal point for members who said it will strongly shape any development. “That parking arrangement is encumbered on that property… it must in perpetuity provide the spaces that are available to help meet HD Supply’s parking requirement,” Brandon said. Several council and EDC members raised structured parking and developer incentives as likely necessities if the town seeks higher density on the site, and one member suggested the EDC begin reserving funds to help pay for shared or ramped parking.

Council and EDC members also debated whether to allow residential uses and, if so, what kind. Several speakers said they do not want multifamily rental apartments immediately adjacent to existing single‑story homes; others said some form of owner‑occupied residential in a vertically mixed‑use project could help activate the district. In his summary, Brandon said he heard alignment around two points: limiting “residential” to owner‑occupied units if included, and designing green space to be functional and integrated into commercial activity rather than as large standalone parks. No formal motion or zoning action was taken at the workshop.

Residents who live along Hillcrest and adjacent streets spoke during public comment, asking for minimized impacts on existing homes and single‑story building transitions at the neighborhood edge. Richard Beatty (resident, 18 Hillcrest) said several neighbors were not notified about earlier planning work on the corridor and asked for more direct outreach; Michael Evans (resident, 20 Hillcrest) asked how the town will fill existing vacant commercial spaces before pursuing large build‑outs.

Council and EDC members emphasized the plan’s extensive community engagement, with the consultant team reporting roughly 400–500 online responses and multiple in‑person sessions. Members described the document as a marketing tool for an RFP or request for proposals to developers: broad enough to allow creative private‑sector design but specific enough to signal the town’s priorities. “We’re creating a marketing document to say, ‘Hey, come and make a proposal to us,’” Councilmember Scott said.

Brandon and staff clarified what the plan does and does not cover: it does not set building heights or detailed engineering standards (those issues would be addressed in zoning and development review and through development agreements). Town staff said the town currently owns two undeveloped parcels identified in the plan — approximately five acres behind town hall and about two acres in front of town hall — and that those holdings give the town leverage to specify terms in conveyances or development agreements.

Next steps discussed by council and the EDC were limited to direction‑level comments: staff will refine the draft small‑area plan language to reflect the workshop feedback, including language limiting residential to owner‑occupied where intended and clarifying the role and extent of public green space, and EDC members signaled intent to more actively market the site to commercial developers. No formal vote, zoning change, or legally binding commitment was taken at the meeting.

The workshop underscored three constraints that will shape any future project: the HD Supply parking encumbrance, neighborhood scale and character along Hillcrest, and the financial feasibility developers will require to justify structured parking or other costly infrastructure. Council and EDC members repeatedly framed the document as a tool to attract proposals rather than to finalize any approvals, and residents asked for continued outreach as the plan moves toward formal adoption steps including zoning and development review.