John Kendall, the property owner, presented a concept Jan. 14 for a 54-acre site at the U.S. 75 and Collin County Outer Loop interchange. The property was previously entitled for roughly 700 multifamily units and about 3.2 acres of commercial intended for a hotel and event center; Kendall told the council his partners say the multifamily development does not pencil at current construction financing rates without a public financing or fee concession.

Kendall proposed keeping about 350 multifamily units on the parcel, converting the area originally planned for the other 350 units to retail/commercial, and donating a roughly 3.2-acre, developable parcel on U.S. 75 (adjacent to a pond and green space) to the city to attract a hotel and conference center. He said the donated commercial parcel’s rough market value is about $4,000,000 and that the remaining green, undevelopable areas are worth roughly $1,000,000. In exchange, he asked for a reduction in impact fees and referenced a PFC (public financing/concession) arrangement to make the multifamily feasible.

Council members stressed the site’s role as a gateway to Anna and expressed a preference for higher-end commercial or professional-campus uses there rather than another gas station or liquor store. Council member Stan Carver raised traffic and visibility concerns for entries on the Outer Loop and urged careful site design; others encouraged Kendall to pursue hotel and conference uses with the city’s economic-development staff. No zoning action or vote was taken; staff asked Kendall to continue coordination with planning and engineering and to bring a formal application to Planning and Zoning Commission.

ENDING: The council did not act on zoning. Staff and the developer will continue technical work on access, stormwater and potential impact-fee negotiations before formal plat or rezoning applications.