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Frisco updates Rail District timeline; council directs $500,000 for downtown gift‑card and marketing relief
Summary
City engineers reported Main Street, Forest Street Plaza and the parking garage remain on their schedules (Main Street target Jan. 29, 2026; plaza and garage targeted May 2026). Council directed staff to deploy $500,000 for short‑term downtown relief—gift cards, advertising allowances and a city marketing push—and asked staff to report back quickly.
Frisco officials gave a detailed construction and relief update for the Rail District and instructed staff to use a $500,000 CDC allocation for short‑term downtown relief measures, including gift cards and targeted marketing.
Jason Bridal, the city’s director of engineering services, told the council Main Street is about 15 months into a 19‑month construction schedule that began July 8, 2024, with a substantial‑completion target of Jan. 29, 2026. Forest Street Plaza and the multi‑level parking garage are on track for May 2026, Bridal said, and staff emphasized that extensive underground utility, irrigation and drainage work required a phased surface schedule to keep lanes and driveways open for businesses.
"We're 15 months into a 19 month construction timeline," Bridal said, and later noted the contract contains penalties for late completion: "There are penalties that start January 30 at 1000 dollars per day." Bridal and staff said they had explored incentives but the constrained, chopped‑up work area limited options to accelerate completion.
Marketing staff reviewed a pilot gift‑card program and said roughly 12,000 physical gift cards were printed and distributed; about 7,500 were mailed and roughly 2,800 were redeemed for approximately $142,000, a ~24% redemption rate concentrated at restaurants. Staff proposed a three‑leg approach for the $500,000 allocation: expand the gift‑card program with better distribution, offer advertising allowances or coaching to downtown merchants, and run an aggressive city marketing campaign to drive visits during the holiday season and beyond.
Downtown business owners gave extended public comment describing deep revenue declines during construction—several owners reported 30–45% year‑over‑year drops for recent months—urging the council to consider direct financial relief (utility credits, fee reimbursements), targeted marketing and guarantees for public parking access in the new garage. Several speakers criticized the first‑phase gift‑card rollout as poorly targeted and urged the city to distribute cards to residents who are likely to spend them locally.
In response, council gave staff direction to execute a near‑term plan to deploy the $500,000 through the downtown advisory board with authority to use the funds for gift cards, marketing and advertising allowances that maximize multiplier effects and can be implemented before the holiday season. Council members also asked staff to return with a report on ideas raised in business owner meetings and with recommended tactics and performance metrics.
What’s next: staff will work with the downtown advisory board to finalize immediate holiday‑season tactics, refine gift‑card distribution to higher‑use populations, set advertising allowances and report back to council with implementation and metrics.
