Allen Council Votes to Reject Downtown Project That Was Meant to Spark Growth After Residents Say Its a Bad Fit

ALLEN -- In a win for neighborhood activists, the Allen City Council denied a plan to bring a 12-acre retail-residential complex to the town's downtown district after a nearly four-hour public hearing Tuesday night.The project was set to include 790 residential units and 10,000 square feet of non-residential office or retail space. It was meant to jump-start a downtown development in Allen, which city leaders say suffers in comparison to its Collin County neighbors because it lacks a strong central business district. But people who live near the project site say that such a large development would harm the character of the older neighborhood. "The very roots of what makes Allen Allen today are single-family dwellings," longtime resident Robert Acker said at Tuesday night's council meeting, explaining his opposition to the project. "I'm asking to pump the brakes. Why can't we be different? Why can't we say no?"  Continue reading...