Over the last several years, we have made a conscious effort to promote our park facilities while also increasing opportunities for our residents to shop, dine, and enjoy themselves in Flower Mound. With that, I wanted to take this opportunity to review the progress Flower Mound has recently experienced:
Park Updates
• Opening of Twin Coves Park — Renovated to open as day use and now allows camping. The Town Council is moving forward with the design and boat ramp improvements. Twin Coves has added almost 250 acres to our park system.
• Bakersfield Park Improvements — Development of five additional acres and four practice fields.
• Fort Wildflower Playground at Heritage Park — Fort Wildflower is a great community project. The Town Council is slated for final consideration of the Heritage dog park; which, if approved, would allow for a 2015 opening.
• Post Oak Park — Recently opened in the Wellington area, adding 19 acres to our park system.
• Trails — Trail amenities and markers were completed along the Purple Coneflower section of the trail and nearing completion along the Pink Evening Primrose section. The Blue Bonnet Trail section is next for the same type of improvements.
• Lastly, more than $1 million was spent in the last year to renovate and improve many of our existing parks.
Looking forward: 2014-2015 Fiscal Year
Budgeted for next fiscal year are six additional playground replacements, Phase II of the additional five acres in Bakersfield Park, the design improvements to Cortadera Park pond, and the Lone Tree Park playground including a new pavilion, benches and shade. The Council has also made the following projects a priority:
Facilities: Senior Center
The Flower Mound Senior Center is coming along on schedule. The steel columns and roof beams have been going up the past few weeks. The project is on schedule and should be completed February or March 2015.
Economic Development Projects:
Three of the largest projects in Flower Mound’s history have begun taking shape:
1. Lakeside DFW:
After 30 years of discussion and planning, several phases are under construction including over 80 single family homes, six mixed-use buildings and the Moviehouse and Eatery. Two future phases of single family development are also underway. Work is progressing on the reconstruction of Lakeside Parkway from Long Prairie Road through the first traffic circle and the developer intends to have this section of Lakeside Parkway complete by mid-September. Several parks, trails and outdoor amenities are also completed or under construction. When completed, Lakeside DFW should contain almost one million square feet of commercial development, with restaurants overlooking Lake Grapevine.
2. The River Walk at Central Park:
The developer finished the mass grading of the River Walk Channel Amenity, and is finishing the channel walls and water fall features. The developer continues working on utility installation and has started paving work. Site clearing has been completed on the west side of the River Walk channel. The developer has also started working on the realignment of Forums Drive and the phasing of the construction of new streets to maintain adequate access to the fire station. The River Walk will include restaurants lining the river, a hotel, and many other amenities highlighting this premier development.
3. Canyon Falls:
Canyon Falls Drive, the spine road for the development Canyon Falls was opened to the public on August 7. Model home permits have been released and the first two of several homes are under construction. The second closing of Stonecrest is projected to occur in September. It will last about 60 days and involve the reconstruction of the east side of the crossing and installation of the new crossing arms, railroad signal and control equipment.
Additional Economic Growth:
Since January 2013, our Town of Flower Mound has added almost 2,000 jobs, with more announcements coming almost daily. On top of this, the town has added almost 3 million square feet of office/flex space in the last couple of years, an increase of almost 55 percent to our pre-existing space.
Here are some additional exciting restaurants and retailers that have announced or have opened in the past two years:
• La Madeleine
• Twelve Stones
• Firehouse Subs
• The Egg & I
• Raising Cane’s
• Dolce Café & Bakery
• Trio Craft Coffee
• Pho 7 Vietnamese Cuisine
• Smashburger
• Salata
• Starwood Café
• Dunkin Donuts
• Second Jersey Mike’s locations
• Jet’s Pizza
• Penn Station East Coast Subs
• Chris’ at the Marina
• Kroger Expansion
• Academy Sports + Outdoors
• Run On!
• Market Street
• Tom Thumb
• Walgreens
• Cross Timbers Village development
• Black Walnut
• Gloria’s Latin Cuisine
• ModMarket
• Mellow Mushroom
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Luna Grill
• Sfuzzi
• Prime Farm to Table
• Primo’s Tex Mex Grille
• Parquet Sports Bar
• Moviehouse & Eatery
Here is a sampling of the companies that have chosen Flower Mound:
• Global Headquarters of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Logistics
• CustomInk
• Christian Community Action
• Premier Nationwide Lending
• Universal Display and Fixtures
• Whitlock Regional Headquarters
• Nature’s Best expansion
• Keystone Automotive
While this is a great start, there are many more things to come. The future is going to be exciting for Flower Mound!
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