2019 was a whirlwind of firsts for Frisco, but the city, its leadership and residents have continually proven that it continues to be one of the leading destinations for countless reasons. Frisco is growing, flourishing, welcoming new residents and businesses and continuing to remain at the cutting-edge of innovative development projects all while remaining an amazing place to live and raise a family. 2019 is coming to an end, but it leaves us with fond memories of milestones and exciting achievements over the past several months.
New Senior Center
Having long called Frisco Square home, Frisco’s Senior Center announced earlier this year that it will soon have a new location nestled among a grove of trees east of Frisco Commons giving way to the center’s new namesake, The Grove at Frisco Commons. Frisco’s new active adult center boasts 30,000 square feet of space (about twice the size of the current Senior Center) that will include a 250-seat multi-purpose space for classes and meetings, dedicated aerobic and fitness rooms, social activity spaces subdivided for game recreation or group crafts and a larger billiards area, among other features. The green space around the new center will allow for patios and a walking trail, more outdoor activities and new programs such as yoga, sports and community events. Membership at the current Senior Center has grown to about 250 visitors per day, a number expected to grow with the population of the city. Like the current senior center, space at the new center will be available for rent. The Grove at Frisco Commons will replace the Senior Center at Frisco Square, which will eventually be converted into city administrative offices.
The First Frisco Fair
Frisco Fresh Market has been an amazing addition to Frisco, and, this year, it has brought in even more fun for community members with the introduction of the inaugural Frisco Fair!
Frisco Fresh Market brings sustainable, healthy food to North Texans from more than 90 local farmers, producers, artisans, chefs and craftsmen together in its spacious indoor and outdoor marketplaces. Frisco Fresh Market introduced the inaugural Frisco Fair in late March/early April of where more than 50,000 people visited. Just recently, the fair had its second run at the end of October into early November. The Frisco Fair is a multi-day family fun event for all ages with rides, food and family entertainment. Admission into the Frisco Fair is free, while rides, games and food can be paid for using tickets available for purchase on sight.
Coyote Sightings
2019 brought with it the realization that, while Frisco is continually growing, wildlife in and around the area is still prevalent and shares the changing land with residents. Late 2018 brought a string of coyote attacks that gained national news attention. Multiple coyotes were responsible for various attacks on both humans and animals along Eldorado Parkway. A jogger was attacked on the neck and two female joggers were also attacked. Multiple dogs were attacked, while several other sightings took place along Eldorado Parkway.
City officials worked closely with Animal Services and wildlife officials to address the issue. Such attacks caused the City of Frisco to take action and create an interactive map for residents to report and display news regarding coyote sightings. While unnerving, the attacks and sightings reminded residents that Frisco is very much still surrounded by wildlife everyone should be aware of.
New Public Safety Training Center
Frisco’s Fire Station No. 9 opened May 24, and along with it opened Frisco’s first Public Safety Training Center. The newly-constructed facilities are located next to each other on the southwest corner of Preston Road and Rockhill Parkway.
The Public Safety Training Center resembles components of a house, apartment and commercial building and includes a stairwell for first responders to access different levels. This structure gives first responders an opportunity to train for real-life situations. The Public Safety Training Center features a four-story, 6,700-square-foot burn tower with four stories to provide a place for high-angle rescue training. One side of the tower looks like a typical Frisco home, inside and out, while the other side resembles a commercial building. The facility also has a vehicle extrication pad and a below-ground, confined space where firefighters can learn how to rescue people from trenches.
New Police Chief
The closing of 2019 means a new beginning for Frisco’s new Chief of Police replacing Chief John Bruce, who went on to become Chief of Police in Richland, WA. The City of Frisco selected department veteran David Shilson as the new Police Chief. He was promoted from Deputy Chief to Police Chief November 1. Chief Shilson has 20 years of law enforcement experience. He has been instrumental in implementing “Closest to Dispatch,” which is designed to improve response times. As a regular collaborator with the Frisco ISD, Chief Shilson is credited with re-vamping the Junior Police Academy program and helped develop this school year’s anti-vaping campaign.
Music Street Frisco
Both music and the arts have played large roles in the culture of Frisco, and, now, music will have an even bigger stage with the ground-breaking of Music Street Frisco this summer.
The Nashville-inspired entertainment complex will boast a 1,024-seat indoor performance hall, a 400-seat outdoor performance stage, along with restaurants and a third, smaller performance stage that will be housed in the indoor dining area for occasional intimate and special performances. The two-level theater will also include skyboxes with drink service and a VIP and corporate area for guests to meet performers.
Located east of Dallas Parkway in Frisco’s North Platinum Corridor, the music complex is minutes from The Star. Nationally recognized and emerging music artists will showcase their work in Frisco’s first “acoustically pure” tunable concert hall, with studio-quality recording capability to produce commercial music albums, which is a first for the Frisco area.
FRISCO OKTOBERFEST
Frisco is always welcoming of new traditions, so it is no surprise that Frisco Square hosted Frisco’s Inaugural Oktoberfest and an amazing time was had by all!
Frisco Oktoberfest festivities included an opening ceremony complete with a traditional keg tapping, delicious German cuisine and food from local Frisco restaurants, along with authentic music and dancing, brat eating and stein hoisting contests, keg rolling, a marktplatz featuring 100 shops and plenty of cold bier. Visitors and participants wore their best Oktoberfest attire and it was a family-friendly event. The inaugural event shared proceeds with local nonprofits including Frisco Fastpacs.
Dr Pepper Moves to The Star
Frisco is now the proud home to yet another major corporation, Keurig Dr Pepper. May brought the exciting groundbreaking of a new 350,000-square-foot office building located at The Star. The new space will serve as one of Keurig Dr Pepper’s two headquarters, with the other in Burlington, Mass., and is set to open in 2021. The building will feature a state-of-the-art work setting for approximately 1,100 employees who currently work at the company’s location in Plano. The relocation of such a prominent corporation brings further proof that Frisco has quickly become a destination city for corporate relocations.
