A developer wants to turn 143 vacant acres where the Dallas North Tollway meets U.S. 380, on the intersection's northeast side, into an Italian-themed village modeled on Venice, built around a lagoon with canals, a public square, a performing arts venue, office towers and up to 4,400 homes. The Prosper Town Council is scheduled to consider the zoning request for the project, called The Marco, on Sept. 22.
The town's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 4-2 on Aug. 18, Local Profile reported. Town staff recommended approval as well. In their report to the commission, planners wrote that the request fits Prosper's Future Land Use Plan for the tollway corridor and that the project would serve as a landmark entry point for Prosper.
The tollway runs along the site's west side, U.S. 380 along its south side and the BNSF Railway along its east side. Frisco lies across U.S. 380.
Who is behind it
The application was filed by BlackStone Communities, whose principal, Jeffory Blackard, built Adriatica Village in McKinney, a 45-acre development modeled on the Croatian fishing village of Supetar. The land belongs to Godwin Investments Ltd., according to the application. The Dallas Morning News reported that Dallas trial lawyer Don Godwin held the corner for 40 years, and that developer Bill Cawley, whose firm Cawley Partners is a development partner in the Dallas Stars' planned arena district in Plano, is now Blackard's partner on The Marco.
"That's the best piece of undeveloped real estate in the world," Blackard told the News.
A bit of Italy
The zoning application leans into the theme. The staff report opens by saying The Marco "brings a bit of Italy to Prosper" and says visitors "will enter this development and feel as though they are in Italy." The plan borrows Italian names for its pieces: the promenade along the lagoon is the passeggiata, and a market square with homes around it is called the Mercato. Bell towers, known as campanili, and cupolas are allowed as landmarks at set spots, and the developer submitted conceptual elevations showing the architectural style for each area, including the hotel, office condos and performing arts venue.
The name draws on two bits of Venice's past, the News reported: Marco Polo, the city's famous explorer, and St. Mark's Square, the Piazza San Marco.
What the zoning would allow
The request would replace the land's current commercial zoning with a mixed-use planned development. The developer's letter of intent argues that Prosper's standard districts cannot produce the project, since the commercial and office districts cap buildings at 40 feet and the multifamily district allows no more than 10 units an acre.
Under the proposed development standards:
- Homes are capped at 4,400 units in total: up to 2,500 apartments in buildings of five stories or fewer, up to 400 units in taller condominium or apartment buildings, up to 500 age-restricted units, and up to 1,000 villas, townhomes, cottages, court homes and live-work units combined. Studios and one-bedroom units could make up no more than 70% of all homes.
- The program includes offices totaling more than 1 million square feet, as many as two hotels, a performing arts venue, a market hall with a grocer, and shops and restaurants.
- Buildings could reach 14 stories and 190 feet within 1,350 feet of the tollway and U.S. 380 and at a few designated interior spots, and eight stories across the rest of the site. Towers, bell towers and cupolas could rise up to 40 feet higher at set locations. If land to the north is later zoned for single-family homes, buildings within 75 feet of that line would be limited to two stories.
- Apartments and condos would have to sit at least 250 feet back from the tollway, reserving the frontage for offices, hotels and parking garages.
- Pawn shops, payday and title lenders, vape shops and standalone self-storage would be banned.
The lagoon at the center, at least 15 acres according to news reports, would be ringed by the passeggiata and would double as regional stormwater detention, which the developer's letter notes is subject to engineering. Open space would total about 28.7 acres, roughly 20% of the site, and most parking would be in garages rather than surface lots.
Town staff flagged one practical question for later review: the fire department will need equipment and access to the water, which may require dedicated fire buildings at the docks.
Construction would come in three phases, according to the staff report: the perimeter, the lagoon and site-wide infrastructure first; then a second phase shaped by buyers of individual pads; and finally a corporate office and headquarters area.
