City officials provided an update on the Collin Creek redevelopment, saying construction has progressed despite perceptions that the project was stalled.
Peter Braster, director of special projects, said, “So lots of stuff is happening. There's, I think, almost 60 homes already occupied.” He described recent work on the mall structure and the retail component, saying the developer, Centurion American, moved to concentrate on retail and that upgraded retail permits are under review.
Braster described heavy demolition and finishing activity: “They're squaring that off, right now. So that work is done. They're chipping out, what, a couple 100,000 square feet of floor tile. I saw 1 guy in there with a jackhammer just chipping away.” He said the parking garage is complete but not yet finished out visually: “The parking garage is is complete. It's not finished out, so it's not pretty yet, but it is complete.”
Braster gave a specific parking figure: “It's, 1,976 spaces, which is tremendous amount of parking.” He said the project team will soon backfill the mall structure and that large dirt piles visible from the street are being removed. He also said the city and the developer were about to “kick off the East Side, all the public improvements. That's all the roads, water, sewer, electric. All that stuff going in will now kick off, so that should be done in the next 6 months.”
Why it matters: Collin Creek is a major redevelopment in Plano that includes new homes, retail, parking structures and parks; progress on infrastructure and retail permits affects when stores open and how neighbors are impacted.
Additional details: Braster said two parks totaling about 8 acres are part of the project and should be visible and activated in the coming months. He described the garage’s 14-foot floor heights and said the East Side public improvements are intended to support both the retail and residential components.
What was not decided or specified: Braster described permit-review status and construction work but did not provide a firm opening date for the retail, a final schedule for all phases, or specific retail tenants. Financing details for private construction and public improvements were not provided in the podcast.