In Frisco, the city council approved new plans to help redevelop its historic downtown. Now known as the Rail District, Frisco's downtown is centered at Main Street, just east of Frisco Square and city hall.
"Every day, I hear customers say, 'I keep driving by this and I finally had a place to park and stop and wanted to come in and check it out,'" said boutique owner Chantel Walsh. "And they come back."
Walsh and her business partner opened Bittersweet Ivy Women's Clothing and Accessories Boutique downtown because they were drawn to the small town feel and the area's potential.
"Downtown has a lot to offer," Walsh said.
Tuesday night, the city council voted unanimously to pass the latest master plan for downtown redevelopment, which included plans for a pedestrian plaza on 4th Street, removing the median on Main Street and widening the sidewalks.
"It's long been a goal for us to develop this into a walkable, pedestrian-friendly area with plazas," said Frisco Mayor Pro Tem Shona Huffman. "We just were looking for the market and the synergy to take it and run with it."
Long-term ideas in the master plan called for creating a design district for additional retail development and dining space and a multipurpose theater.
"We have shopping experiences, we have dining experiences, but we don't have an experience that brings people in to stay the day," said Mark Piper, president of the Frisco Downtown Merchants Association, who welcomes the push for redevelopment.
"Our downtown area symbolizes where Frisco has come from," Huffman said. "As much as we're growing, we want to make sure that the small-town feel and what most of us moved to Frisco for still exists and we honor that."
Read the downtown master plan here (page may take several minutes to load).
