A proposal to put a Trader Joe's at the corner of Main Street and Majestic Gardens Drive, with a senior living community behind it, is back before the Frisco City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Council opened a public hearing on the zoning request Aug. 18 and then tabled it 5-0 to give the developer, SNS Frisco West Main Station LLC, more time to work with city staff. A planning memo prepared for Tuesday's meeting says the applicant has since resolved the items staff had flagged.
What is proposed
The site is a 9.4-acre tract on the southwest corner of the intersection, part of a 223.9-acre planned development the council first approved in 2006. That zoning envisioned a walkable, village-style commercial corner tied to the neighborhoods to the south.
A grocery store is already allowed there. The rezoning is needed for the senior living piece, which current zoning does not permit. Under the plan, the grocer would occupy about 3.22 acres at the corner and the senior community about 6.18 acres to the south, next to existing homes. Staff's report lists 158 senior units, all one- or two-bedroom.
At staff's request the project would be built in one phase, and the senior housing could not receive an occupancy certificate until the grocery store does.
How it got here
According to the staff report, the developer has submitted many versions of a plan for the corner over three and a half years, ranging from townhomes to senior living to mixed commercial projects.
Staff initially recommended denial of the current request because some of its comments had not been addressed, including parking for the senior units, open space and the pedestrian experience along Majestic Gardens Drive. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 on July 28 to recommend approval.
On parking, the report says the developer is proposing 1.2 spaces per senior unit, below the 1.5 that recent planned developments have required, a point the staff report addresses.
