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AlpineX outlines plan for resort-style District 35E on Carrollton’s 121‑acre site
Summary
AlpineX presented a master‑plan vision for a mixed‑use District 35E anchored by a year‑round indoor snow/entertainment resort, hotels, retail and housing on the city‑owned 121‑acre site. City staff sought council consensus to pursue a nonbinding memorandum of understanding and further due diligence; the project would rely in part on a state funding mechanism and a special‑purpose district.
AlpineX and city staff presented a phased master plan on July 21 for redevelopment of a 121‑acre city‑owned tract at the southwest corner of President George Bush Turnpike and I‑35, describing a district that would concentrate roughly 70 developable acres in a walkable, mixed‑use layout anchored by an indoor, year‑round snow and entertainment resort.
Robbie Shaw, the city’s executive director of development, told the council the site has been studied since the city purchased it in November 2022 and that staff, the TOD committee and the District 35E committee recommended seeking qualifications and proposals to test development options. “This was purchased as a generational development site,” Shaw said, summarizing prior engineering work and the committee review that led to the RFP process.
John Emery, AlpineX CEO, described a development model the company calls a resort‑style destination to produce steady daily demand rather than only large, intermittent events. “We’re creating this entertainment district along with housing, retail and other things that create daily demand, which is really good for full‑time employment,” Emery said, adding that the resort would operate 365 days a year and include programming beyond snow sports.
The AlpineX team said the proposed resort building would house roughly 750,000 square feet of uses — including about 300 hotel rooms, restaurants, retail and indoor snow facilities — while the broader district would mix ground‑floor commercial space with multifamily above, dedicated residential tracts, and hotel parcels. The developer said much of the vertical construction on smaller tracks would be sold to specialized vertical developers while the master developer would deliver horizontal infrastructure and operate some anchor uses.
AlpineX and staff explained key financing tools the team would pursue, including a municipal management district or special‑purpose district overlay to issue assessments for maintenance and to accelerate horizontal infrastructure, and a state tax program (described in the presentation as a “3 51 c” funding mechanism) that can direct hotel and sales tax increments to fund a city‑owned conference or event center. Jim Caldwell, AlpineX CFO, framed the special‑purpose district as a way to speed development while providing long‑term administration for the district.
Council members repeatedly asked how much of the project depends on state legislative support for the conference center funding and what the city would own versus what AlpineX would build and operate. Staff said the conference center is optional: the project can be pursued in phases without the conference center, but the statewide funding window for the legislative program would matter for that specific element. Staff noted the relevant legislative window is Q1 of the 2027 session and urged further work with state delegates if council wants staff to pursue that funding path.
Council members and staff discussed controls the city would exercise through plan development and platting processes. Emery said the master plan and plan‑development documents would be developed jointly with the city; parcels intended for sale to vertical developers would be subject to the city’s plan‑development rules and design standards. “The tracks are going to be laid out in collaboration with the city,” Emery said.
Mayor Steve Babich and others framed the item as a request for consent to continue vetting the concept: staff would return with a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to align expectations and allow the city and AlpineX to coordinate due diligence, financing studies and environmental work before any development agreement. The council did not vote on a development agreement; instead staff sought direction to proceed with an MOU and continued study.
What’s next: staff will draft an MOU if the council indicates interest and will continue technical due diligence (including wetlands/floodplain work and discussions with the Army Corps of Engineers). A special‑purpose district and state funding timing were flagged as decisive factors for financing and phasing; staff will return with further detail should council direct them to proceed.
Sources and attribution: quotes and details come from the council work session presentation and question period, as delivered by Robbie Shaw (City of Carrollton), John Emery (AlpineX), and Jim Caldwell (AlpineX).
