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Downtown Plano: An Urban Renaissance
Not long ago, downtown Plano was a sleepy, nearly forgotten commercial center of a farming community swept away by Dallas’ suburban expansion. Today, downtown Plano is experiencing a renaissance and is reemerging as an urban center stimulated, in part, by the coming of light rail transit service. Nearly 500,000 square feet of private development is under construction, adding 450 urban apartments and 40,000 square feet of non-residential development to the compact 80 acre downtown. Historic commercial and civic buildings are being restored, including the adaptive reuse of the city’s first school gymnasium (built in 1938) as a 326-seat performing arts theater. Neighborhoods adjoining downtown are also experiencing revitalization, including new infill housing. Downtown Plano provides important lessons on the use of light rail transit and the principles of new urbanism to create urban activity centers within the context of older commercial development and as a sustainable development strategy for maturing suburban cities.
Early History
Initially settled in the 1840s, Plano was incorporated June 2, 1873, six months after the Houston and Texas Central Railroad opened and made the city the trading center of the farming community of southwest Collin County. Plano prospered and attained a population of 1,304 people by 1900. Downtown Plano consisted of a single block of one and two story commercial buildings (less than 50,000 sq. ft.) surrounded by scattered heavy commercial and service uses. Churches and neighborhoods adjoined downtown creating a compact village. Plano was connected to Dallas (approximately 20 miles south) by a two-lane highway (State Highway 5), two railroads and 1908 the Texas Traction Company (interurban electric railway). Small train and interurban depots were located on west side of downtown. Interurban rail service ended in 1948 with the region’s growing reliance on automobiles and trucking. Plano’s population was 2,126 in 1950.
The expansion of the greater Dallas metropolitan area began to affect Plano in the 1950s. Development and extension of North Central Expressway (US 75) (1950-1956) greatly improved access to north Dallas and Collin Counties and stimulated suburban expansion. City leaders prepared for growth. In 1950, Plano and 9 other cities created the North Texas Municipal Water District to provide for their common water, wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal needs. By 1950, eight area school districts completed consolidation and established the 114 square mile jurisdiction of the Plano Independent School District. The City of Plano was granted a home rule charter on June 10, 1961, which increased the city’s governance authority and its ability to annex. During the following decades, city leaders aggressively developed infrastructure and facilities to serve growth. Today, the City of Plano occupies approximately 72 square miles with a population greater than 230,000. Plano is a major employment center with more than 100,000 locally based jobs. Its diverse economy includes international and national corporate headquarters, high-tech manufacturing, warehouse and distribution centers, hospitals and over 14 million square feet of retailing.
1960s - 1980s
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Despite Plano’s tremendous growth, downtown remained largely unchanged. Residential growth during the 1960s and 1970s created demand for new commercial centers. Typical supermarket anchored shopping centers were developed at arterial intersections throughout the city. In 1971, a small shopping center was built at 16th and Avenue K. adjacent to the historic downtown core. Named Downtown Center, the T shaped, Spanish-style strip center contained small shops, services and a restaurant. Complete with surface parking, the design and architectural style of the center stood in odd contrast to the older downtown core. The center was small (approximately 20,000 square feet) and its development did not alter the fact that downtown had lost its position as the city’s business center. In the 1980s, a regional mall and other big box retailers located along US-75 (the major freeway connecting to Dallas) approximately 1½ mile west of downtown. Residential and commercial expansion continued to the west and north and other major commercial centers soon developed along Preston Road and more recently along the Dallas North Tollway
During the 1980s, downtown changed from a traditional business center to a specialty retail district composed of antique stores and gift and clothing boutiques. These businesses benefited from the historical setting and a favorable rent structure. Unlike mainstream retailers, locally owned boutique businesses were able to adapt their merchandizing and operations to the small footprint and other peculiarities of downtown’s older commercial buildings. Businesses turned over frequently, but the vacancies did not last long. Nevertheless, downtown was in a precarious position and was physically and economically eroding. Most businesses opened mid-morning and closed by late afternoon. Only a few merchants owned their building. Absentee landlords and their tenants were both reluctant to make more than cosmetic improvements to the buildings.
Historic Downtown Plano Today
In the spring and summer of 1991, a sub-committee of the Plano Planning and Zoning Commission prepared a plan to guide downtown development. Improvements made during the previous decade beautified downtown, but failed to stimulate private reinvestment. With the reconstruction Avenues K and L underway, many believed downtown was poised for growth. While new development was welcomed, there was concern that growth needed to be carefully directed to complement the historic downtown core. The Downtown Development Plan was approved by City Council on September 11, 1991.
In 1993, the DART service plan was updated. The revised light rail transit (LRT) plan included a special events platform downtown. In theory, the platform would be used only in conjunction with festivals or other special activities. Later, DART staff concluded that the concept of occasional service was not workable and the plan was amended in 1997 designating downtown as a full-service stop. DART was eager to begin engineering of the LRT extension to Plano. Favorable tax revenues and federal funding allowed DART to expedite the project and a new target date June 2003 was set for commencing service.
In 2006, the City Council approved the Downtown Retail Task Force which included the creation of a Downtown Planner and implementation of several objectives including the formation of the existing Merchants Assocation into a Non-Profit. The Historic Downtown Plano Association was reorganized in January 2007.
Today, the Downtown Plano is experiencing a rebirth with new restaurants, retail, office, and Housing. The sky is the limit as Downtown Plano returns into a destination for Plano and North Texs
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