FRISCO, Texas — This article was originally published in the Dallas Business Journal. Read the original article and more business content here.
After nearly a decade of planning, the long-awaited Firefly Park development in Frisco is making new strides.
Infrastructure construction began a few months ago on the 217-acre mixed-use project, spearheaded by Wilks Development LLC. And on Sept. 10 it received approvals for three sets of site plans for significant vertical construction from the Frisco Planning & Zoning Commission. Frisco City Council will also need to weigh in.
Firefly Park is expected to bring billions of dollars of development — a blend of residential, commercial and recreational space — to the northwest corner of PGA Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway. It promises to be another major project for fast-growing Frisco and add to the dense commercial development proliferating in this city north of Dallas.
The site plans were for what CEO Kyle Wilks called "block A" and "block B" of the development, which will be the "big vertical" pieces with residential, office, restaurant and retail space, he said.
During a Sept. 11 construction tour, Wilks told Dallas Business Journal that Firefly Park is designed to foster walkability and community engagement.
In addition to Wilks Development, other members of the project team include Dallas-based BOKA Powell, Boston-based Sasaki, Baltimore-based Hord Coplan Macht, Dallas-based Kimley-Horn, Amsterdam-based UNStudio and Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.
Wilks said UNStudios was tapped because the developers wanted to emulate "a European city that's very walkable."
"Most of those architects have spent their whole career in an environment where the vehicle is not the number one priority," he said.
The project has evolved significantly since its inception in 2015, when Wilks Development first acquired the land. Initial plans were met with resistance, particularly from Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney, who challenged the developers to rethink their vision.
Key lessons came from listening to the city’s leaders and residents. Cheney encouraged Wilks to make the 45-acre park the focal point of the project and a destination in its own right.
Thus, Firefly Park will feature a 45-acre greenbelt, what Cheney has referred to as the "golden thread" with a chain of ponds and lakes that runs through the development. The park will feature walking trails and patios overlooking the ponds.
Phase one, currently under construction, will include a 190-room Dream Hotel with attached office space, 230 townhomes, high-rise and mid-rise residential buildings, 130,000 square feet of retail and dining space and a 1,400-spot parking garage. A 5,000-square-foot private event chapel and a 25,000-square-foot amphitheater will also feature in this first phase.
Work is now underway on infrastructure including roads, water and sewer lines and other utilities. That infrastructure construction, often referred to as horizontal construction, began in April and is expected to last about 12 months.
Phase one, which Wilks said will include the entirety of the park, is slated for completion in 2027.
In total, Wilks hopes to complete the development in about three phases, which could last about a decade. When fully built, Firefly Park is expected to be a $2.5 billion to $4 billion project, contributing to Frisco's continued economic growth. Other major developments currently underway in Frisco include The Bays, a 100,000-square-foot resort near the PGA of America headquarters, and a $550 million Universal Kids Resort.
Firefly Park — which has also gone by the names Frisco North and Oxbow at Frisco — in March received approvals from the Frisco Planning & Zoning Commission and then in April secured development approvals from the city's economic development corporation and city council.
Wilks hopes Firefly Park helps Frisco "lean into" its rising tourism appeal. In 2021, the city welcomed 6.4 million visitors, leading to $1.5 billion in spending, according to data from Visit Frisco. He also sees it as a live-work-play development, with "a half-mile of high energy nightlife."
