Dive Brief:

• Verizon is moving closer to breaking ground on a Gensler-designed, $1 billion mixed-use development across the street from its Irving, TX, offices, according to the Dallas Morning News.    

• The 2-million-square-foot complex, developed by the telecommunications giant and partner KDC, will include retail, apartments, hotel rooms, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station connecting to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and downtown Dallas, as well as a 750,000-square-foot office building.

• Pioneer Natural Resources will anchor the office building, a project for which the City of Irving is providing nearly $6 million in economic benefits.

Dive Insight:  

In April 2016, Irving officials expressed concern over Verizon's proposal to construct 1,800 multifamily residential units in the Las Colinas area of the city before first building out the office components. This caused city officials to delay approval for the project. At the time, Verizon argued that housing was necessary to bring in corporate tenants and said it planned to build a seven-story high-rise with a restricted number of rental units.

The Dallas area has seen more than a few massive mixed-use developments in the last year or so. Earlier this month, developer Hines said it would build a 3.5-million-square-foot mixed-use complex in the Dallas suburb of Allen, TX.

When the 135-acre project is complete, it will include about 1.7 million square feet of office space, 380,000 square feet of retail and 300,000 square feet of residential development. Hines said Allen has lacked the walkable, resource-heavy focal point that The Strand will provide.

The $1 billion Bayside project in the Dallas suburb of Rowlett, TX, which features an 8-acre, lagoon-style water feature, is already underway. The 262-acre development, on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard, will also include artificial beaches, a marina, a mix of 3,000 condos and apartments, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space and 700 hotel rooms.

The largest mixed-used project in North Texas, however, isn't one development but rather a group of mixed-use projects. Located in Frisco, TX, the area has become known as the "$5 billion mile," although city officials have said that there is another $2 billion of development going on elsewhere in the city.

The Dallas Cowboys recently received the city of Frisco's approval to build a 17-story, luxury residential tower in the team's $1.5 billion Star in Frisco mixed-use development. The project, which will feature 150 to 160, 1,200-square-foot units, is the first residential high-rise approved on the $5 billion mile.