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Road improvements scheduled for area near NFM
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
The dynamics of northwestern Plano will be dramatically changed in the next few years when Grandscape opens in The Colony.
The 433-acre development will be at the intersection of Spring Creek Parkway and State Highway 121. The anchor business, Nebraska Furniture Mart, will cover 1.9 million square feet and is expected to bring people in from as far away as 200 miles when it opens in April 2015, said Tod Maurina, an assistant city manager in The Colony.
A traffic study conducted by The Colony revealed that about 306,000 vehicles travel on roads near the development, a number that is projected to increase to 425,000 by 2020. While the current road infrastructure will not be able to handle the increase in traffic, Maurina told the Plano City Council on Monday night that construction on new roads will be complete before then.
“This is a $40 million capital improvement and we expect to be letting that contract begin in mid-May of this year, and it will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2014, prior to the opening of Nebraska Furniture,” he said.
The Colony is also working with the city of Plano to improve several roads that connect the two cities. Headquarters Drive dead ends at Spring Creek Parkway, but Maurina said it will be extended westward so it connects to Plano Parkway.
“We expect this all to be in place so when Nebraska Furniture Mart is ready to open it will all be ready,” Maurina said. “We expect to spend about $100 million in this first phase in roadway improvements to the area.”
Maurina said developers are also looking to put buffers in place to help minimize the impact Grandscape has on Plano residents in the King’s Ridge, King’s Gate and Shoal Creek homeowners associations. Current plans show and neighborhood center and high-end multi-family units adjacent to the Plano homes to minimize the amount of noise and light that cross into the neighborhoods, Maurina said.
Gerald Cosgrove, Plano public works director, said his department has worked closely with his counterparts in The Colony to ensure the development’s construction has the smallest impact possible on Plano residents.
“It is going to take some cooperation to make this work for everyone’s benefit,” Cosgrove said.
During the construction phase, Plano residents wishing to receive updates or offer suggestions to the developers may visit grandscapetexas.websitetoolbox.com.
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