Plano City Council postponed a rezoning request for a new life sciences complex until September at the behest of the applicant.
The project envisioned by NexPoint Development Co. would see the former headquarters of Electronic Data Systems, a 98-acre plot just east of the Dallas North Tollway with over 1.6 million square feet of existing office space, transformed into the “TxS District,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
With the endeavor expected to cost more than $3.6 billion, NexPoint said in a statement that it is currently in talks with potential partners to turn the development into a public-private collaboration, according to Community Impact.
NexPoint asked the Plano City Council to defer consideration of its rezoning request until September 11 “to better align with the timing” of the talks.
The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission had already granted unanimous approval for the rezoning request during its meeting on July 17, and it was supposed to be voted on by the council members on August 14.
In the July commission meeting, NexPoint President Frank Zaccanelli said that the development could create over 30,000 new jobs by completion. The transformative project is anticipated to be a boon for Plano and the nearby Legacy Business Park.
Alongside developing an expansive life sciences hub with labs and gene therapeutic production facilities, the Dallas-based investment firm aims to add commercial and residential spaces.
Plans for the mixed-use development include a luxury hotel, 775 midrise apartments, and a 9.5-acre park.
With many job opportunities centered around cell and gene therapy, Zaccanelli said he thinks North Texas could emerge as an industry linchpin.
“What we’re trying to do is build a hub that would be a gateway from the East Coast to the West Coast,” Zaccanelli said during the July 17 meeting, Community Impact reported. “Boston has 40 million square feet of life science; San Diego has 30 million. In North Texas, we could have 10 [million] to 15 million square feet of life science because it’s a hugely emerging business.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth area was recently rated as one of the top markets for life sciences based on its local institutions, rapid growth, workforce talent, and size, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
While Plano and other cities around the metroplex have become quite the hotbed of development in recent years, Dallas has earned a reputation for being hard to build in.
Dallas’ delay-prone development process has periodically resulted in backlogs of permit applications at its Development Services Department. While the department has taken steps to improve the process, problems and delays persist as City Manager T.C. Broadnax struggles to turn Dallas into a flagship city for builders.