The next phase of a planned mixed-use development in North Texas could soon be underway following the project’s recent proposal to city officials.
In December, Dallas-based Republic Property Group presented McKinney City Council members with a Financing District Proposal (FDP) that included initial plans for a proposed 1,800-acre Municipal Management District in northern McKinney called Honey Creek.
Municipal Management Districts (MMDs) or “Improvement Districts” are special districts formed by state legislation. They are distinct political subdivisions of the State and city where they reside, according to an overview of FDPs by Houston-based Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP.
MMDs have three distinct uses: to support existing major activity centers, to promote neighborhood revitalization, and to support raw land development.
“Municipal Management Districts have the same purpose and intent as any district,” said Jake Wagner, co-CEO and partner of Republic Property Group. “It’s funding very expensive infrastructure and enhancements that really make the place come alive.”
Unlike a public improvement district, however, MMDs are primarily controlled by a district board rather than the City.
In general, the McKinney-based development project is expected to add more than 10,000 residential units as well as commercial and office space, according to December’s proposal.
The proposed Honey Creek district will lie west of U.S. 75 and north of U.S. 380, near Erwin Park, according to Michael Quint, Executive Director of Development Services in McKinney.
While approval for the mixed-use development still requires an affirmative vote by City officials, Council Members voiced support for the project at their recent December 20 meeting.
“The goal would be to have future commercial [space], corporate relocations, and business parks in the future,” Republic Property Group’s Wagner told McKinney City Council on December 6.
“It really all starts with a proper framework up front and quality residential,” he said. “That’s what we would be focused on when starting the project.”
In the works for several years, the proposed project has a potential assessed value of more than $2 billion, according to the FDP.
“Communities of this nature are complex and take a long time to come to fruition,” Republic Property said in a statement, adding that it fervently “believes in the future growth and demand for homes in D-FW and McKinney.”
Meanwhile, in Dallas, time-consuming and complex processes in the City’s system for issuing building permits hampers local residential developers as well as the city’s potential for growth.
Republic Property Group said it plans to submit the project’s bill to the Texas Legislature during the current legislative session.