TIF board approves amended subsidy for Lancaster retail project, adds Wingfields and Frost Bank as tenants

The City of Dallas TOD TIF Board voted June 10, 2025, to approve staff’s recommendation to amend Resolution 24-0356, changing terms of a tax increment financing (TIF) development agreement with UCR Development Services LLC for a retail project on city-owned land at 3011–3039 South Lancaster Road.

The amendment increases the TIF subsidy from the amount previously authorized and adjusts project requirements so the development will proceed as two new build-to-suit buildings anchored by Frost Bank and Oak Cliff-based restaurant Wingfields. Staff told the board the total restructured project cost is about $8.4 million and the developer will be required to secure minimum 10-year leases for both anchors.

Board members and the developer said the project moved from a three-building concept to two buildings after tenant-driven changes and the loss of a national tenant during predevelopment. Don (developer representative) told the board that construction and other costs have risen sharply during the predevelopment period: “the cost[s] ... have gone up between 30 and 50 percent,” a change he described as unprecedented in his 30-year career. Staff said the TIF subsidy was increased to reflect that reality and that the revised subsidy remains within underwriting limits.

The amendments include several community and contract concessions in exchange for the higher subsidy: an increase in women- and minority-owned business participation from 40% to 50% for construction expenditures, a staff goal that 50% of new hires for the Frost Bank and Wingfields openings be Dallas residents, and a requirement that Wingfields and Frost Bank sign minimum 10-year leases. Staff also noted site improvements—wider sidewalks, landscaping and signal improvements—remain part of the project scope.

Public comment at the meeting was limited to one speaker who described retail scarcity in the Lancaster corridor and questioned what types of retail the project would attract. Developer and staff responses said a national tenant search had been conducted and that tenant availability and rising costs constrained the plan; staff emphasized the project is “tenant driven.”

Board discussion touched on transit-orientation and parking. Board member Jonathan (board member) said he viewed the proposal as “auto centric development” and said he would not vote for auto-centric design, urging a less car-focused layout given the site’s location in a TOD district. Other board members, including Luis (board member), asked for economic clarifications; staff explained that because the property is city-owned and not on the tax roll, the city’s return is new taxable value once built. Staff said the overall TIF subsidy equates to roughly 20%–25% of total project cost when tenant improvements are included (staff provided a breakdown in the memo available to board members).

A motion to approve staff’s recommendation was made on the record and the board approved the amendment; one board member abstained. The board did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript provided. Following the vote, the board chair closed the special-call meeting.

The approved amendment reauthorizes TIF support for the Lancaster retail redevelopment but changes the subsidy level, reduces the developer’s minimum required private investment, secures named tenants and raises community participation and local-hire goals. Staff and the developer said the changes aim to make the project feasible after multiple iterations in predevelopment and the loss of an anticipated national tenant.

Looking ahead, staff and the developer indicated the project will proceed with final site planning and lease execution; the board’s approval authorizes the amended TIF agreement and associated documents to proceed to implementation steps.