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westferrisscouting · 7 years ago

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TEXAS VIEW: Developers should chip in to pay for land for parks

So it is encouraging that the City Council will be presented with a plan Wednesday to create a new and long-term source of support for building parks in Dallas. We hope the council supports the plan.

In brief, the plan would require Dallas developers to offset new hotels and housing developments by paying into a new parks fund or setting land aside.

Why is this good for Dallas? The reason is simple. Dallas is growing in terms of development and population, but it isn’t keeping pace in terms of adding parks, trails and green space. Among the 10 largest cities in America, only Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix score worse on the annual list put out by the Trust for Public Land. Among the largest 100 cities, we rank 50th.

Since Dallas can’t afford to buy more park land, maybe the city will finally force developers to carve out green space

And as we grow, it will only get harder to create parks unless we take steps now to set aside funds and land. In the parlance of the trade, it’s hard to build a new park in an already “built” environment.

In this case, the proposal being offered to the council has been kicking around for a long time. It has been approved unanimously by the Dallas Park and Recreation Board. Developers and other stakeholders have been hashing out compromises for months. And the city’s quality-of-life committee has been briefed on the idea five times since 2017.

The proposal would require developers to pay a fee depending on the size of a project or to pay a smaller fee and set aside some land for parks.

Those funds would be pooled and spent on parks near the developments that generated the fee. Fees generated in the downtown zone could be spent citywide on the trails that stitch Dallas together.

Dallas has made do without these fees for decades longer than many other cities in Texas, including Plano and other neighboring communities. And we are typically skeptical of mandatory fees, but in this case we believe Dallas needs to pull private developers into the process if it is to have the park land needed to ensure it is a city of the first order for generations to come.

The risk is that opponents effectively derail this plan through needless delay. We hope the council hears out all objections. But we also hope it moves forward before its July break to support a plan that ensures Dallas can build the parks it will need in the decades ahead.

What’s in the plan?

Divides Dallas into seven zones. Park fees paid by developers will be used within the same zone.Exception would be in the zone including downtown, Uptown, the Design District and the Cedars neighborhood. Those funds could be spent developing Dallas’ citywide trails network.Fees would depend on the number and type of unit developed. For example, for single-family developments, the fee would be $1,165 per house; for multifamily, $457 per one-bedroom unit.Developers could opt to donate land instead or to develop private park lands within the project, as long as it was accessible to the public.

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His Way: Keaton Parks’ Long and Winding Road from High School to the USMNT

As he prepared for graduation day at Liberty High School, Keaton Parks had two vastly different routes available for the future. After three standout seasons with Liberty, Parks had verbally committed to a soccer scholarship at nearby Southern Methodist University. Born in the Dallas suburb of Plano, he’d go to school in his backyard and play for the Mustang team that he grew up watching.

Parks had spent his whole life in Dallas, but he ventured overseas for the first time after his sophomore year in 2013. That trip planted the seeds of his second thoughts. He had followed his club coach from team to team since age eight, and that summer, he followed Armando Pelaez to Portugal, where Peleaz had played professionally. Between that summer and the next, Parks trained with several Portuguese clubs. Now, they wanted to bring him to Europe full-time.

Parks took the leap, an ocean away from his comfort zone. He hasn’t looked back. His upward trajectory since has brought him to his first-ever camp with the U.S. Men’s National Team.

“It was a big jump for me, but I definitely made the right decision,” Parks said. “The options were there. SMU would have been a great option. Portugal was a whole new country. Since I was a kid, I wanted to play in Europe. Just following my dream and everything was definitely the right decision to make, especially looking back at it now. This is what I wanted to do.”

A former pro in Portugal and Venezuelan national team member, Peleaz preached possession as Parks came up through the ranks. It’s molded him into a player who, even at 6-4, can glide with the ball at his feet.

“Always possession, keep the ball, a lot of touches and stuff,” Parks said. “That’s how I learned to play football. I’m really tall but I think I have really good feet and I’m good on the ball in tight spaces. When I have the ball, just looking at the field I can find good passes all across the field. I think I have good vision in that sense. I can also complete the pass as well.”

Close Control: Keaton Parks keeps possession of the ball in training while riding a challenge from teammate Erik Palmer-Brown.

Parks’ development with Pelaez lead to that first trip abroad in the summer of 2013. While Pelaez initially brought Parks to train with his former teams, an agent took interest in the young American and opened the door for opportunities at other Portuguese clubs.

That initial European exposure came before Parks’ growth spurt. Back in Plano, he earned All-State honors and led Liberty on a deep playoff run as he sprouted up. When Parks returned to Portugal the following summer, he had gone from 5-5 to over six feet tall.

He would spend only one more semester at Liberty. Parks graduated early and passed up a final full season of high school soccer for another trip overseas and a taste of the top-tier amateur game. After the fall term, Parks didn’t return to high school, but made his way overseas for another trip of training and trials in Portugal that confirmed his potential to sign professionally.

He returned stateside in time for the spring NPSL season. Pelaez coached the Liverpool Warriors , a local Liverpool affiliate, in the budding amateur league. Instead of a final high school campaign, Parks tested himself across Oklahoma and Texas against top amateurs and college talent in their offseason.

His time with the Liverpool Warriors also booked him a final short-term spell overseas. Parks had caught the interest of second division side Varzim in his winter trip to Portugal. When the Warriors went to play a tournament hosted in the city of Povoa de Varzim, it cemented the club’s interest. A few weeks after the trip, Parks put pen to paper with the small club.

As his friends packed their bags for college, the tall Texan picked up and moved overseas to begin life as a professional athlete in a foreign land. Far from the comforts of any dorm room in Dallas, he started life anew in a country where he could hardly speak the language. Parks had to rely on a bilingual friend to translate between him and his teammates at Varzim.

“At first, in training, I would listen to the coach but not catch anything,” Parks said. “I would just watch them do the drill and just copy what they did. I would just speak English really slowly to them and they could catch some things and try to reply.”

After a few appearances with Varzim’s B team to kick off the season, Parks spent the rest of 2015-16 with the U-19 squad. While it supplied valuable experience, his transition abroad brought its own challenges. Instead of school and soccer just 25 miles from Plano, he launched a career nearly 5000 miles from home.

Parks and fellow Plano, Texas native Weston McKennie battle for the ball during U.S. MNT training.

“There definitely were times that I’d just be in my apartment, lonely,” Parks said. “I had a couple friends, but most of the people didn’t speak English very well. I had SMU as the backup plan, so that was also enticing. I could just stay in my hometown.”

But Parks stuck it out. He got more comfortable in coastal Povoa de Varzim, started to learn the language, and a successful season with the U-19s brought him to training with Varzim’s first team by the end of the season. At the launch of the 2016 campaign, Parks immediately integrated into the first team.

He made his professional debut on Sept. 4, 2016 in Varzim’s fifth league game as a late substitute. A midseason managerial shift saw him lock down a regular spot in the starting lineup. In his final two games before the winter break, Parks scored his first two professional goals.

Just as he began to find his footing with Varzim, a contract dispute derailed the second half of his debut pro season. Parks trained, but couldn’t play in any games that spring. Despite the lack of regular action, he had shown enough the previous fall to earn his first Youth National Team call-up to a pre-World Cup Under-20 MNT camp in London.

Over the summer, Parks officially left Varzim to sign with Benfica, historically the most successful club in Portugal.

“At first, I just couldn’t really believe it, I was playing for one of the most well-known clubs in the world,” Parks said. “Especially when I started training with the A team, these guys I watch on TV and play with on FIFA, I thought it was really cool.”

After half a season in the second division, Parks found himself at one of the biggest clubs in Europe. He started out with Benfica’s B team, star-struck as the first team trained a field over. When his play with the reserves earned him full team training time, the players he idolized became peers. A chip over legendary Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar in training brought the first team down to Earth.

“I would see the A team training on the field next to us and I was like ‘Wow, those guys are so good, I know that guy!’” Parks said. “That goal was a really cool moment for me. I started feeling more comfortable in the training sessions. The guys talked to me more and they were teaching me. I started realizing, these are my teammates, I’ve got to stop admiring them so much.”

It took until his first game with the senior squad to fully see them as teammates rather than objects of admiration. That came on November 18, when Parks came on as a 71st-minute substitute in a domestic cup match. Back home, Parks would have been a college junior preparing for Thanksgiving break. An entrance in front of tens of thousands of rowdy red-clad fans in Lisbon was a world away.

“Walking out of the tunnel was really cool for me,” Parks said. “When they sent me to warm up at the beginning of the second half, I was like ‘Dang, I might go in to this game, it’s crazy. I got my chance.”

From then on, Parks trained full time with the full team. Almost two-and-a-half years after his arrival, he’s continued to fully integrate himself in Portugal, both in football and the language. Benfica put him through Portuguese lessons all year in preparation for the potential of interviews in the local tongue next season.

Parks still played primarily with Benfica’s B team in 2017-18 and starred as a regular starter, but began to make the first team bench more regularly as the season went on. He made a few more appearances, but with the club locked in a down-to-the-wire battle for Portugal’s second and final Champions League qualification spot, minutes became hard to come by.

Still, Parks showed enough in his limited minutes and in his key role with the reserves to draw the attention of the Men’s National Team. A few weeks before the start of camp, assistant coach John Hackworth gave him a call to check in. E-mails from the team administration followed, and Parks officially earned his first MNT invite.

U.S. U-17 MNT head coach and MNT assistant coach John Hackworth helped bring Parks into his first MNT camp.

“I called both my parents, my brother, my sister and Armando too,” Parks said. “He was really excited for me, he was like ‘I told you I’d get you there, thank you for trusting me!’ He was really proud of me.”

Back in the USA, Parks’ introduction to the MNT has granted a smoother transition than his move overseas. For one, he can understand when the coaches explain drills. For another, he fits right in among the freshest-faced USA roster in recent memory. Parks checks in just below the average age of 22, as he’ll turn 21 in August. Camp also reunites him with former North Texas Olympic Development Program teammate Weston McKennie as they share the field for the first time in years.

Unlike some of his youthful peers, Parks didn’t come through the YNT pipeline. The U-20s scrimmaged against English club teams last April, but Monday’s match against Bolivia will be Parks’ first-ever opportunity to represent the red, white and blue in an international match. With the opportunities now at hand, he couldn’t have made a better decision for his post-high school plans.

“I’m really excited,” Parks said. “Hopefully I’ll get my chance in the game and I can show what I’m capable of. I expect it to be the best feeling in the world, the best moment of my life so far. We’ll see what happens.”

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Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning Raises More Than $36,000 for Make-A-Wish® through Company Wide Bowl-A-Thon

Service Experts Chief Executive Officer Scott Boose and Wish Child Payton are pictured at the 2018 Service Experts Bowl-A-Thon at Strikz in Frisco. (Photo: Business Wire)

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006341/en/

Service Experts Chief Executive Officer Scott Boose and Wish Child Payton are pictured at the 2018 Service Experts Bowl-A-Thon at Strikz in Frisco. (Photo: Business Wire)

On Sunday, April 29, hundreds of Service Experts employees, along with family, friends and vendor partners, gathered in multiple bowling facilities across the United States and Canada for a fun-filled day of team spirit to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses. Teams engaged in friendly competition as they battled to claim bragging rights for the highest score, lowest score, best attire, best bowling ball and several other awards.

The Dallas-area Service Experts team, who bowled at Strikz in Frisco, had a special guest for the event —Wish Child Payton, who had just returned from his wish to go on a cruise with his family. Back in January, Service Experts, along with Make-A-Wish North Texas, hosted a wish reveal party for 10 year-old Payton, who suffers from a nervous system disorder.

“It was amazing to see so many of our employees come together in support of this incredible cause on World Wish Day,” said Scott Boose, Chief Executive Officer of Service Experts. “We were thrilled that Payton and his family could join us to bowl and share the highlights of their recent adventures at sea. We are truly honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of this strong young man’s wish experience.”

Service Experts, one of North America’s largest HVAC service companies, announced its sponsorship of Make-A-Wish in January. The North American partnership touches the hundreds of U.S. and Canadian communities Service Experts serves out of its 90 centers. Make-A-Wish serves a unique mission of creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. A wish experience can be a game-changer, and tens of thousands of volunteers, donors, and supporters advance the Make-A-Wish vision to grant the wish of every eligible child. Service Experts has 3,200 employees across 90 locations in 29 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, all of which are integral to helping make wishes come true in 2018. More information on Service Experts and the Make-A-Wish partnership is available online at www.serviceexperts.com/truewishes.

Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning locations have been serving their communities with air conditioning and heating repair, maintenance plans and new system installation for decades, and the average age of their service centers is over 50 years. Headquartered in Plano, TX, Service Experts is one of North America’s largest heating and air conditioning service companies with 90 locations across 29 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Their team of NATE-certified technicians delivers expert service, repair, and installation on all brands of furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, air handlers, humidifiers, and indoor air purifying systems for both the residential and commercial markets. For more information on home comfort products, services and local rebates offered by Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning, visit ServiceExperts.com.

On Facebook @ServiceExpertsHeatingandAirConditioning

ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH

Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child’s wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 35,000 volunteers across the U.S., grant a wish every 34 minutes, on average, somewhere in the country. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 300,000 wishes to children in the U.S. and its territories; more than 15,400 in 2017 alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006341/en/

CONTACT: Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning

Mary Woehler, 972-535-3746

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA TEXAS

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BUILDING SYSTEMS PHILANTHROPY CHILDREN OTHER PHILANTHROPY CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY CONSUMER FUND RAISING

SOURCE: Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning

PUB: 05/22/2018 04:16 PM/DISC: 05/22/2018 04:16 PM

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Fitness firm Peloton bringing 400 new jobs to Plano’s Legacy Central

CBRE

Plano’s $300 million Legacy Central project has landed another major business tenant.

Peloton – the fast growing fitness equipment firm – has rented 27,518 square feet of office space for its new Peloton Tread high tech home equipment division.

Peloton’s new Plano regional campus on U.S. Highway 75 will be the company’s first member support center located outside its New York City headquarters.

The firm evaluated locations in multiple U.S. cities before picking the Dallas area.

"Dallas is a very important market for Peloton," Brad Olson, Peloton Senior Vice President, said in a statement. "Our showroom at NorthPark Center in Dallas has been one of our top performing locations nationally since it opened in 2015.

"And, in just the past nine months, we opened a new showroom at Legacy West in Plano and a field operations site in Arlington," he said. "Plus, we have tens of thousands of Peloton members in Texas to welcome us to town."

Peloton will hire up to 400 people to work in the Plano location.

"Peloton is, at its core, a tech company, so we were drawn to Legacy Central as a hub for leading tech companies," Olson said.

Peloton will join international electronics giant Samsung, which is bringing more than 1,000 jobs to Legacy Central in a consolidation of its North Texas operations.

Legacy Central is being developed by Los Angeles-based Regent Properties, which in 2016 bought the 84-acre former Texas Instruments campus that was built starting in the 1980s at U.S. 75 and Legacy Drive.

Regent Properties has redeveloped the old tech center into a mixed-use project with new office space, retail, conference facilities, additional parking and apartments.

CBRE’s Michael Conner, Noreen Mehdi Weathers and Baron Aldrine negotiated the Peloton lease with Nathan Durham with Transwestern.

"The quality of the workforce really sold Peloton on Dallas," CBRE’s Conner said.

Legacy Central is a mixed-use redevelpment of the old Texas Instruments campus on U.S. 75

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French-Inspired Plano House Offers Style, Space

PLANO, TX — Whether you want to entertain your friends or spend a relaxing evening with family, this house has the amenities to get the job done. See this house’s listing and hundreds like it on Realtor.com.

Square Feet: 4176 Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 5 Baths Built: 1996 Features: This custom, French-inspired house greets you with a two-story entry, dual-rod iron and travertine stairways, marble flooring and a formal downstairs living. Walk past the entryway to experience light, an open kitchen with granite counters and a gas cooktop, access to a breakfast room, a wet bar and far more. The private master suite comes with a fireplace, an elegant marble bathtub with jets, an oversized shower and a large walk-in closet.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.

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Amazon wants tax incentives, Texas knows the drill

FACEBOOKTWITTER Toyota was offered more than $50 million in financial incentives and tax abatements from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the city of Plano to move its North American headquarters to Plano, above. –

Seattle-based Amazon is searching for a location for its planned second headquarters, or HQ2. In recent months, site selection teams have been visiting the 20 metro areas in North America (19 in the U.S., plus Toronto, Canada) that were selected as finalists from a field of 238 cities and regions that submitted proposals in response to Amazon’s callout in late 2017.

Amazon says HQ2 will bring as many as 50,000 well-paying jobs to its new home and generate more than $5 billion in capital investment in buildings and other infrastructure. The company has said it is looking for “a stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure” and that “incentives offered by the state/province and local communities to offset initial capital outlay and ongoing operational costs will be significant factors in the decision-making process.” Bidding entities (which included governments as well as chambers of commerce and economic development organizations) were asked in Amazon’s request for proposals to “Identify incentive programs available for the Project at the state/province and local levels. Outline the type of incentive (i.e. land, site preparation, tax credits/exemptions, relocation grants, workforce grants, utility incentives/grants, permitting, and fee reductions) and the amount.”

Financial incentives included in bids to Amazon have ranged into the billions of dollars from locations such as Newark, New Jersey, and Montgomery County, Maryland. For many cities, however, the proposals (and incentives included in them) have not been made public by the entities that prepared the bids for Amazon.

Two cities in Texas — Austin and Dallas — made Amazon’s final 20 list. The state has a long track record of attracting corporate headquarter relocations and expansions, using an arsenal of state and local financial incentives — including grants and cash payments, tax abatements and other tax breaks — to land marquee companies.

One example is Toyota, which in 2014 was planning to consolidate operations and relocate its North American headquarters from Torrance, California. Chris Nielsen, now Toyota’s executive vice president for product support, said the company wanted thousands of employees to move to the new headquarters, which was a hard sell since the company was coming from a picturesque oceanfront town in Southern California.

“The most important considerations were quality of life for team members and economic factors for the company,” he said.

Toyota chose Plano, Texas, a middle-class suburb of Dallas, population 280,000. Housing in Plano and the North Texas region is affordable compared to many other thriving metro areas around the country, and the local schools are good. To help seal the deal, Toyota was offered more than $50 million in financial incentives and tax abatements — $40 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, a statewide “deal-closing” fund controlled by the governor, and approximately $14 million in economic development grants and property-tax abatements from Plano.

“Incentives do play an important role” in site selection, Nielsen said. “It’s certainly not the most important factor, but if we were considering multiple sites, and several of them offered some incentives to help with things like infrastructure and the like, and others did not, I think we would look more favorably at those that were looking to invest in us just as we’re making a significant investment in them.”

Toyota has invested $1 billion in its new headquarters, which was completed in 2017 and now has more than 4,000 employees. The sprawling landscaped campus covers nearly 100 acres, with water features, a vehicle test track, coffee bars, fitness centers and a training center that offers virtual reality tours of Toyota assembly plants.

Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said the economic boost from Toyota more than offsets the cost of state and local incentives given to the company.

“It’s going to mean over $7 billion — that’s with a ‘b’ — to our community. So not only obviously sales tax revenue, but travel, retail, hotel. There’s a true multiplier effect from roughly $4 billion of payroll, and that income and purchasing power is pretty significant.”

Because of temporary property tax abatements Toyota receives as part of its incentive package, Plano will raise less tax revenue to fund schools. However, taxpayers statewide pick up some of the education costs in cities that offer such corporate incentives.

Related Toyota of Texas Amazon narrows list to 20 for its second headquarters There are tough specs for Amazon’s second headquarters

Nathan Jensen, a professor of government at the University of Texas-Austin, has concerns about corporate incentive programs.

“I think tax abatements in general are a bad idea, especially long tax abatements beyond five years.” He argues that they starve state and local government of future tax revenues for schools, public safety and infrastructure development.

Jensen said incentives aren’t usually the deciding factor in a site-location decision.

“Most companies either have a good idea of their location or a small number of locations, and that’s often done at the highest levels of the company.” And he said that when crafting such incentives, government officials should try to support local improvements “that would benefit the community — expanding the airport, workforce training, infrastructure in terms of highways.”

Jensen voiced specific concerns about transparency for the proposals submitted to Amazon on behalf of Austin, Dallas and many other metro areas around the country.

“We know almost nothing,” he said. “Who was at the table? Which land developers were brought in and which weren’t? Were labor groups and environmental groups part of the discussion? In terms of Austin, the Chamber of Commerce submitted the bid, and they’re not subject to public records requests. A number of locations have done this, either through the chamber or an entity created just for the Amazon bid.”

Spokespeople for both the Austin and Dallas chambers of commerce told Marketplace that the organizations are under nondisclosure agreements and can’t reveal their proposals. Amazon told Marketplace that it does allow bidders to release their proposals to the public.

A recent survey by Elon University of residents of each of the 19 U.S. locations that Amazon is considering for its HQ2 found that only 36 percent of people in Austin "strongly support" Amazon choosing their city (Denver, Boston and Los Angeles also scored low). By contrast, 44 percent of Dallas residents “strongly support” Amazon coming to town.

“I really think it’s too big of an entity to come — we’re not ready with the traffic infrastructure, mass transit, our schools,” said Austin City Council member Leslie Pool, adding that she has not seen the proposal sent to Amazon by the chamber to promote the region. Pool said she’s heard from many constituents who are worried that if Amazon brings tens of thousands of new headquarters workers to the area, housing and living costs will rise. She also objects to providing taxpayer money to Amazon, because she thinks the company hurts local retail businesses. “If they want to come here, they can come here, but they need to do it entirely under their own steam,” she said.

But Mike Rollins, president of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, supports extending some financial incentives to Amazon.

“Early indications are that Amazon wants to be a partner in solving community issues,” he said, “whether it’s mobility, affordability, housing.”

Jessica Heer, senior vice president for talent attraction at the Dallas Regional Chamber, said, “We’re open arms, we definitely want them, and we’re ready to accommodate whatever they need.”

Clint Peinhardt studies tax incentives and economic development at the University of Texas-Dallas. He said government or private entities using financial incentives to try to lure corporations should follow some best practices to protect taxpayers.

“Transparency — telling us the packages once they’ve been accepted. Direct targeting of incentives” by tying them to specific measurable job-creation targets. “And claw-backs, so that if a company gets money, and then doesn’t do what they said they were going to do, you can take the money back.”

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Rare Texas Songbird Removed From Endangered Species List

AUSTIN (AP) — Federal officials have announced that the population of the black-capped vireo has recovered and the rare Texas songbird will be removed from the endangered species list.

The announcement Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service comes after the agency first proposed the move in 2016.

Black Capped Vireo (photo credit: Texas Parks & Wildlife)

The agency intends to monitor the bird to ensure its numbers continue to grow. The bird is also found in Oklahoma.

The black-capped vireo was declared endangered in 1987 when there were only an estimated 350 adult birds in the U.S. and Mexico. Habitat loss and other factors cut their numbers. There’s now an estimated 14,000.

Property rights groups had urged the move while birders and conservation organizations had asked U.S. Fish and Wildlife to refrain from delisting the bird.

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Carlton Provisions Brings Signature BBQ Creations To The Box Garden At Legacy Hall

Collaboration by Jordan Swim and Chili’s Founder Larry Lavine debuts today

Plano, TX (Restaurant News Release) The long-awaited Box Garden at Legacy Hall is adding another delicious element with the debut of the Carlton Provisions BBQ stall today, April 23.

A labor of love from Chili’s Founder Larry Lavine and Jordan Swim of Vestals Catering, Carlton Provisions will introduce an array of tasty BBQ creations such as oak-fired brisket, five-hour ribs and house-prepared sausage that are oh so good to the outdoor patio and entertainment venue. It is the only food stall that will be operating in the Box Garden, alongside five bars.

“This is my first collaboration with Jordan, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that we will be bringing our signature BBQ to the Box Garden,” said Lavine. “Legacy Hall has already raised the bar for dining and entertainment in North Texas, and the addition of the Box Garden makes it one of the most extraordinary venues in the entire country.”

Carlton Provisions is Jordan Swim’s first brick-and-mortar location. His successful business, Vestals Catering, is devoted to the beauty of the bountiful table.

“I believe that as we eat together, we not only receive nourishment from the food, but from the conversations and fellowship of life lived together,” said Swim. “With Larry’s help, and the amazing platform of Legacy Hall, we’re bringing our shared passion for connecting people through food to Carlton Provisions. We can’t wait to serve and fellowship with the local community and with visitors drawn from all across the globe.”

The Box Garden is the completion of the vision that is Legacy Hall. It is the ultimate outdoor patio and entertainment venue constructed out of reclaimed shipping containers. Designed to be a versatile and innovative communal space, it’s the perfect spot for a happy hour with friends, a business rendezvous or some late-night fun. At its core is a 600-square-foot event stage and massive LED screen that will host live music, sports watching, festivals, holiday parties, culinary events and more. The Box Garden will be the epicenter for artists of all mediums coming together in Plano. Musicians, performers, chefs, mixologists, painters … all styles, flavors and vibes will be celebrated.

The Box Garden is the answer to the proverbial question: What do you want to do today?

As part of the Box Garden’s four-day grand opening celebration from May 17-20, Carlton Provisions will be hosting cooking demonstrations and sampling their delicious meats on Thursday, May 17, during the Kickoff Party. The Chris Watson Band, a 10-piece blues and southern rock group, will be kicking things into high gear as well.

For more information on all of the activities scheduled at the Box Garden, including the lineup for Grand Opening Weekend, visit http://legacyfoodhall.com/events-entertainment/.

Carlton Provisions will be open Sunday from 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday through Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 12 Midnight.

The Box Garden is on the east side of Legacy Hall at 7800 Windrose Ave. in Plano’s acclaimed Legacy West development. For more information, visit legacyfoodhall.com.

About Front Burner Restaurants, LP

Front Burner is a restaurant innovation lab and the force behind more than 100 restaurants and multiple thriving concepts, including Twin Peaks, Whiskey Cake, Mexican Sugar, Velvet Taco, Ida Claire, The Keeper, The Ranch at Las Colinas and cutting-edge wine-on-tap concept Sixty Vines. Front Burner’s mission is to open independent concepts with memorable names and to use fresh, local products to fill a gap in the market and break the traditional rules of dining. The company’s newest creation is Legacy Hall, the first of several projects envisioned for The Food Hall Company, founded by Randy DeWitt and Jack Gibbons.

Contact:

Champion Management 972-930-9933 [email protected] www.championmgt.com

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How North Texas ranks on SmartAsset’s list of cities with successful women – Dallas Business Journal

When it comes to a national ranking of cities with successful women, Plano ranks in the top 10.

That’s according to a new report — "Cities Where Women Are the Most Successful" — compiled by New York-based personal finance company SmartAsset.

To compile its list, SmartAsset said it looked at six factors: "percent of women with bachelor’s degrees, median earnings for full-time working women, percent of businesses owned by women, women’s unemployment rate, average housing cost as a percent of a full-time working woman’s income and percent of women with high incomes."

Plano took ninth, with SmartAsset highlighting that just over 27 percent of full-time women earn more than $75,000 and the city’s female unemployment rate is under 3.1 percent. The city also boasts some of the study’s best-educated women, with roughly 36 percent holding bachelor’s degrees.

However, Plano’s cost of living prevented it from taking a higher spot in the report, SmartAsset noted.

"…Our data shows that the average home costs over $1,400 per month, including mortgage and property taxes, which would eat up 33 percent of the average full-time working women’s income," the report states.

Arlington, Virginia, ranked No. 1, followed by Scottsdale, Arizona; Madison, Wisconsin; San Francisco; Alexandria, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Washington D.C; and Denver.

Largest North Texas Women-Owned Businesses

Ranked by 2016 Local Revenue

Rank Company 2016 Local Revenue 1 Asociar LLC $132.49 million 2 HOBI International Inc. $90 million 3 WRG LLC $86 million View This List

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What housing shortage? This Fort Worth development is bucking the national trend | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Not long ago, when travelers ventured beyond Loop 820, the skies opened and cattle bedecked the landscape, forming a veritable gateway to rural West Texas.

Today, that area of far west Fort Worth is quickly becoming one of the most popular residential developments in North Texas.

The Walsh area, about 14 miles west of downtown Fort Worth, is bucking a national trend. While the rest of the United States is coping with a housing shortage that is driving up prices and forcing some prospective buyers to wait, Walsh is building houses at a rate of about one per day.

Walsh features 11 square miles that used to be part of the family owned Walsh Ranch. It straddles Interstates 20 and 30, wedged between west Fort Worth’s older neighborhoods and Aledo.

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Today, Walsh is attractive not only for the wide range of homes — with 12 builders offering structures ranging from the upper $200,000s to nearly $800,000 — but also for the amenities, said Tony Ruggeri, co-chief executive of developer Republic Property Group.

The neighborhood is expected to eventually be home to roughly 50,000 people, although full build out could take up to 50 years. But residents who have already bought property can already enjoy many of the master-planned amenities.

Recently, the doors opened on a community room known as a "Makerspace," which features a variety of heavy-duty woodworking tools, 3D printers and other equipment available for free use by residents. Several pools, a beach volleyball area and water park features will be added later this year.

The idea is to give residents the tools to help their children learn skills previous generations got from wood shop class or perhaps a robotics club, Ruggeri said.

"We take very seriously the responsibility for creating a lot of childhood memories," Ruggeri said Tuesday during a tour of the area. "We know people want their kids to have more than just memories of going everywhere in a car. People want to experience things outside, and to have access to the tools they need to make things."

In its first year, Walsh has sold 171 homes, including 34 homes for which the sale has been closed and residents have already moved in. About 60 more homes are slated to close in the next 90 days, Republic Property Group officials said.

The development is marketed not only to young parents looking for a safe, yet outdoorsy place to raise their children, but also empty-nesters looking to downsize without sacrificing quality in their neighborhood of choice, co-CEO Jake Wagner said.

Caroline Revard is one of the first home owners in Walsh development, an area of west Fort Worth that developers say will eventually have more than 50,000 residents. McClatchy

The first phase of the project is on 1,700 acres, and within five years an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people could leave in the area, Wagner said.

In all, the Walsh development will be 7,200 acres, including commercial and retail development. The Aledo district’s Walsh Elementary School is already open in the center of the development, a short walk from a Walsh Village Market that serves as a gas station and convenience store with healthy snacks and ready-made meals.

"In 10 years, this will be a city in itself," said Caroline Revard, one of the first home buyers in the area.

A fitness center is already open as well, with a variety of exercise machines, free weights and an enormous area for Pilates, yoga and cardio workouts.

Nationwide, real estate analysts are predicting one of the weakest spring selling seasons in recent years. It’s a crucial time for the industry, since 40 percent of home sales take place between March and June, according to the National Association of Realtors.

As Fort Worth prepares for an influx of new residents — with today’s population of about 850,000 expected to swell to nearly 1.5 million by 2040 — Walsh is expected to be a bell cow for neighborhoods wishing to lure upper-middle income and wealthy residents.

New homes at Walsh development in Fort Worth, TX, Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

Max Faulkner [email protected]

Walsh was designed to preserve the rolling hills native to the area, and is organized so that residents have easy walking access to one of three parks.

Also, the entire area is being wired for 2 gigabit Internet speed — faster than surrounding areas — and residents and businesses will have an option to tap into 10 gigabit service. A company known as Frog is installing the fiber optics.

Tony Ruggeri, Co-CEO RPG, holds an laser etching made in the new "MakerSpace" building at the Walsh development in Fort Worth, TX, Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

Max Faulkner [email protected]

The area, which is in the Aledo school district, will eventually have its own middle and high schools.

Walsh is being built in a cooperative effort that involves the Walsh family, which still lives in the area and owns ranch land, and Republic Property Group. Republic also developed Frisco’s Phillips Creek Ranch and Celina’s Light Farms and is working on Plano’s Villas at Legacy West. The partners formed Quail Valley Land Co. for the Walsh project.

This report includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.

Gordon Dickson: 817-390-7796; @gdickson

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$200K to $2M: How much home can you afford in Plano?

NOTE: This is the second of a series over the next week looking at how much home your money can buy in Collin County.

From a top-tier school district to an expansive food hall to multiple headquarters, Plano is giving homebuyers plenty of reasons to head to Collin County.

The city has long been home to big businesses like J.C. Penney and Frito-Lay, but in recent years it has also attracted the North American headquarters for Toyota, as well as massive corporate offices and regional campuses for companies like Fogo de Chão, FedEx Office, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual Insurance and Boeing.

That’s thanks largely to the construction of Legacy West, a $3.2 billion mixed-use development on Plano’s west side. Developed by Fehmi Karahan, the 225-acre project is home not only to offices, but hotels, residences and plenty of retail and restaurant options, like a Tesla showroom, a Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House and Shake Shack.

Legacy Hall, North Texas’ first European-style food hall, also opened at the development in December. The three-story, 55,000-square-foot hub features 22 food stalls, half-a-dozen bars and a brewery.

“The experience that our environment offers is second to none, anywhere in Texas. We have the best dining choices for all budgets and tastes, and a broad selection of marquis retailers,” Karahan said in a prepared statement. “Blending these shopping and dining venues with our residential and office tenants makes Legacy West the premier ‘live/work/eat/play/shop’ destination in Texas.”

It’s also helped make Plano a top live/work/play destination in North Texas. Residents are flocking to take advantage of its amenities. Between 2010 and 2015, the city saw a 9.1 percent population spike.

The growing populations is leading to an increase in housing prices. According to Tommy Wooten, realtor associate and team leader with Joe Atkins Realty-North, only two homes in Plano are available for less than $200,000.

And for buyers looking for a something for under $300,000, expect a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home built in 1981. Newer, larger homes are going for higher prices due to demand.

That’s why Wooten is encouraging those interested in moving to Plano to act fast – prices won’t be going down.

“I advise people not to wait for a market crash,” he said. “It’s not happening unless there is some unforeseen international or national crisis.”

See how much home you can buy between $200,000 and $300,000 in the slideshow below. For homes priced above that, click here to see how far your money goes in Plano.

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Or if you’re looking for an ultra-luxury residence, check out this 14,279-square-foot Plano home previously listed for $7 million. Located on Old Gate Road, the property is headed to auction in April. It boasts heated pools, a professional tennis court and more.

RELATED: See how much home your money can buy in Frisco.

RELATED: Selena Gomez puts Fort Worth mansion back on market.

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Apartments on the way in next phase of Plano’s Legacy Central project

Legacy Central – the $300 million reboot of Texas Instruments old Plano campus – is breaking new ground with apartment construction.

Developer Trammell Crow Residential has started work on the first rental units in the 84-acre mixed-use project at U.S. Highway 75 and Legacy Drive.

The apartment development at the south end of the project is part of Los Angeles-based Regent Properties plan to give new life to the old tech campus.

Regent Properties has already remodeled the first of four old TI buildings into new office space and is building a parking garage.

Along with the offices, Plano officials okayed zoning for almost 700 apartments, retail space and a hotel in the project on the west side of U.S. 75.

The first 385 Crow Residential apartments are being built on what was previously a surface parking lot.

"We should deliver the first apartment units in late summer or early fall of 2019," said Crow Residential’s Matt Enzler.

The 5-story, urban style apartment village will be one of the most visible changes to the former TI site, which was built starting in the 1980s.

Regent Properties bought the 1 million-square-foot campus in early 2016.

The new owners have added huge murals to the existing buildings, put in landscaping to update Legacy Central.

A conference center and fitness facilities have been added.

Office buildings in the Legacy Central project have been redone for new business tenants.

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Marcus Hiles – Texas Rental Market: How Developers are Keeping Up and Keeping Rent Down for The Population Boom

DALLAS, March 14, 2018 — With over half a million new residents coming to Texas each year, the area’s housing options are shrinking and forcing new development to keep up. In fact some of the top Texas metros and their surrounding areas including Dallas have held some of the largest increases in new residential and commercial construction growth across the nation in recent years.

Marcus Hiles is a Dallas Fort Worth-based property developer

With this demand for housing seemingly outweighing the available properties in the state’s most desired city and suburban locations, an influx in both rental costs and home market appreciation is on the rise. Developers and property firms are more focused than ever on breaking new ground to make room for new and relocated renters and buyers.

One of DFW’s leading property development firms, Western Rim Properties is focusing its expansion in some of the state’s top surrounding city locations with nine new projects coming in 2018 to areas like Rowlett and Farmers Branch. With its communities serving the growing need for affordable rental properties that provide some of the area’s highest quality accommodations, the development locations are also positioned where the market is headed – just outside of Texas’ city centrals.

The cause for this shift in growth headed to the city outskirts is a direct reflection of the population boom and underdeveloped housing availability. Price spikes and limited inventories are pushing residents to explore new locations.

Take one of the state’s leading metro areas DFW, which had the highest jump in rental prices in Texas growing 3.8% in 2017 – double the national median increase that was reported at 1.9% in Zillow’s annual rental forecast report.

With a booming economy and job market that helped land Dallas as one of the top 10 home markets in the nation, it’s no surprise costs are increasing in the city and more people are looking for affordable alternatives near this leading location.

Recent reports have even shown the majority market of new home buyers and renters – millennials – are headed for popular Texas suburbs over its city centrals. “The rental communities of today’s generations provide city-like amenities and top of the line accommodations. Along with close proximity to cities and thriving job markets, these suburban developments are giving renters what they’re after,” shares Marcus Hiles, CEO and founder of Western Rim Properties.

The Texas community as a whole is starting to adapt this forward thinking approach as new businesses are relocating and expanding to areas outside of the city focused on growth. Among the leaders, McKinney, Plano and Allen.

It seems the state is bringing change that will soon be the standard in many major metro areas. Residents and businesses are investing where the opportunity is and it’s opening up a new market for all.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-hiles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcus.hiles/ Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/marcus-hiles

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90221841-58b5-4010-afcc-2f687fe14e64.

Marcus Hiles [email protected]

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