Pitman Creek North Homeowners Association – Annual General Meeting
Plano Academy High School
Guest Speakers: Centurion American Representatives
Clifford Cockrell, PCNHA President, opened the meeting at 7:10 welcoming all the attendees and announcing that the meeting would begin with the guest speakers immediately so there would be plenty of time for both the presentation and questions afterwards.
Centurion American:
After introductions of the Centurion American development staff (Brad Biber, Vice-president; Ralph Bush-architect; Courtney Morrow, Marketing; Rob Romo, on-site project manager), Brad Biber gave an overview of Centurion American, their previous and on-going projects (e.g. Statler Hotel, Valley Ranch redevelopment, Mesquite Rodeo, etc.), and a timeline of how everything has moved toward development. They began zoning requests only 4.5 months ago and it has all moved very rapidly. The Plano City Council and the Plano ISD have been supportive and helped the process speed along. The lender/capital is all approved and ready to go. We are seeing the end of an era with the Collin Creek Mall becoming a completely new development tailored for current and future population needs.
The City of Plano, as well as Centurion Development, see this new development connecting to downtown Plano using autonomous cards/buses; this development will actually be an extension of the downtown area, with approximately 7,000-10,000 people living and working here. They anticipate the buildout will take 5-7 years. Spring Creek cannot be opened up (due to the amount of water which flushes through during heavy rains) so they are in the process of redoing/updating the hydraulics, etc. of the creek underground. A traffic impact analysis has been done and a new traffic light will be added on Alma at Janwood (as well as potentially another couple of entrances on Alma for residents). Currently there are no sidewalks on the west side of Alma across from the development – new sidewalks will be added. They will be building 4,000 parking spots underground (3 levels) so there will not be any above ground parking.
Plano ISD, working with the development company, has said that the influx of children to the schools that serve this area of Plano will be no problem – that these schools are currently underutilized; PISD is happy to have more children living in this area.
Ralph Bush (Bush Architects) discussed how important trails would be throughout this project development. The trails will connect both to the Chisholm Trail but also throughout the project and eventually connect to the Heritage Creekside project (Alma and Plano Parkway). The development will have also exercise facilities, a world-class 4-star hotel and entertainment venue. The main concept is to have a “village” here – live, work, enjoy all in the same place.
Initial plans include:
(1) 500 Single family dwelling (along the west side/Alma area) which would probably be 2-3 story townhomes, $400,000+ price range.
(2) 300 Senior-focus independent living apartments (closer in to the mall area)
(3) 2300 Multi-family living facilities (north side of the development area)
Height of Buildings – 3 zones:
(1) Western-most section – zoned for 3-4 stories maximum (approximately 100 feet height) (along Alma).
(2) Central section – including mall area – zoned to no more 5 stories in height
(3) Eastern-most section – zoned for 15-20 story office building and hotel. The majority of building height will be nearest Highway 75.
Hotel – will be considered a “resort” hotel:
(1) Part of the Hilton Curio group
(2) 200-key hotel
(3) 1.5-acre blue lagoon in front
(4) 40,000 ft. meeting space for large conventions
(5) 25,000 sq. ft. entertainment venue
(6) 3 different concert areas which can be used simultaneously
(7) Direct access into the mall and surrounding restaurants
Restaurants:
(1) 12 main restaurants
(2) Situated around the blue lagoon for both indoor and outdoor sitting/eating
Main Structures of the Mall Area:
(1) Children’s play areas – air conditioned; non-traditional; can drop kids off
(2) The retail will be percentage-based rent. They also believe that marketing will be huge to make this successful.
The developers anticipate that the development will begin in July:
(1) Mall will close at the end of June; however, JCPenney will stay open during the entire construction period
(2) Deconstruction of the “big box” stores of the mall will begin late July
(3) Building the underground parking garage first
(4) Construction will begin on the ‘redo’ portion of the mall which they are retaining as well as beginning construction of the hotel and restaurants as soon as possible.
(5) Construction of the new JCPenney will begin also (separate pad site)
(6) Anticipate opening of the restaurants and some facilities by end of 2020 if possible. Want to open the hotel, restaurants and some stores simultaneously to drive business amongst the entire development.
In June, the new website will go live. Anyone may sign up for email updates and announcements regarding the project development, keeping people informed. There will also be an area of the website where you can submit questions, raise concerns, etc. The website will be www.CenturionDevelopment.com
HOA Business:
Landscaping:
Karen Smith, Landscape Chair, made a presentation regarding all the updates made in the Pitman Green North gardens including photos of each of the gardens with changes that have been made in the last year. She also discussed the complete renovation of the garden at Rio Grande and Park (the large tree was removed by the City of Plano due to girdling as well as dangerous limbs falling; shrubs were removed due to cotton rot and plants had to be replaced because it was no longer a shade garden – needed sun-loving plants/tree). Karen also showed photos of the garden at Columbia and Park which will also need to be redone in the fairly near future (Oncor has trimmed the tree back so much there is almost nothing left; City of Plano will remove it and then the garden will need to be converted to a sun garden). Karen and Cliff have also worked with the sprinkler/irrigation companies to fix all the broken irrigation and install new irrigation as appropriate. Remember, if our gardens look good, this increases not only homeowner satisfaction in living in our neighborhood but it makes your property more valuable and easier to sell.
New House on Brazos:
The owner of the new single-story house being built on Brazos attended the meeting, bringing plans and information about how the house is being built. It is considered an “envelope house” – very energy-efficient home, very green, with steel walls inserted after the foundation is finished. Should go up very quickly.
New Business – Noise Concerns:
Homeowner expressed concerns about noise pollution in the neighborhood with the destruction and buildout of the new Collin Creek Mall redevelopment as well as other noise that is causing him concerns – it is difficult to sit outside and/or enjoy his outdoor activities. The HOA president suggested that this discussion be done on the side of the meeting as there is nothing the HOA can currently do to assist in this matter.
Picnic in the Park:
Denise Gooding, Activities Chair, reminded everyone that our annual Picnic in the Park festivities would be held on Sunday, May 18th from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Because we can no longer serve food, everyone is encouraged to bring their own picnic to the park and visit with their neighbors. There will be a band and activities as well as FREE SNOWCONES for all!
HOA Signage:
Sometime between Sunday afternoon, May 5 and Monday morning, May 6, the HOA Membership and Annual Meeting signs were taken from the front entrance (Victoria and Plano Parkway). The City of Plano as well as the landscaping company have been contacted and deny their staff removed them. Apparently the signs were stolen by someone. If you have any information about these signs, please contact the PCNHA President; these are expensive signs that are used yearly and will have to be repurchased.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.