During a regular meeting on Nov. 27, 2023, Plano City Council voted to hold a public hearing on Jan. 8, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. as its members consider creating a 703-acre tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) located at the Legacy Business Area. The city will prepare a preliminary reinvestment zone financing plan to present at the hearing.
The creation of a TIRZ is part of the city’s efforts to redevelop the areas between Headquarters Drive and Tennyson Parkway along the Dallas North Tollway. The creation of special zones like TIRZs used in Texas to provide tax increment financing for infrastructure and redevelopment projects.
The hope behind TIRZs is that by helping finance the costs of redevelopment, the city is able to attract new investment in the area. It’s a way of promoting growth in areas that would otherwise not attract sufficient interest and market development.
In the past year, the Legacy Business Area has been the center of several development project proposals brought to the city council.
On Aug. 29, 2023, the council approved a new development on the southwest corner of Plano Parkway and Executive Drive, at the site where Fry's Electronics used to operate. When the project is completed, the development will include 501 mid-rise residential units, 33 single-family residence attached units, 123,600 square feet of office space and 100 hotel rooms. Additionally, on September 2023, the structural work on Ryan Tower at Legacy West in Plano was completed and the whole project is estimated to wrap up by September 2024.
Currently, the city of Plano has three active TIRZs, including Downtown Plano, Collin Creek and the Silver Line stations.
According to Plano Star Courier, the decision to create the TIRZ began with the EDS campus redevelopment.
During the public hearing at city hall in January, residents and business owners in the area will be able to share their insights on the council’s proposal.
