City Of Frisco Passes Landmark As Population Tops 150,000
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FRISCO (CBS 11 NEWS) - The city of Frisco has passed a landmark with its population topping 150,000. With 20,000 new people moving in the last two-and-a-half years, the city is one of the fastest growing in the country.
What you can see along Lebanon Road is the slow birth of the $2 billion Wade Park mixed-use development. It's the northern border of the so-called $5 billion mile that extends south to the new Dallas Cowboys headquarters, The Star, and all of these giant projects, are helping to draw more people to Frisco.
The city used to have a lot more empty spaces, but the 242 acres adjacent to The Star will soon grow up to be the $1.7 billion Frisco Station development. It's just one of four major mixed-use projects in progress along Frisco's $5 billion mile that will bring offices, retail, homes, and most importantly people.
"I can remember when I was driving up and down these roads, and there was hardly anything there, and now it's hard to find your way around because there's so much," Jeri Buckner said.
As a realtor, Buckner says the population boom has been nothing but good for her. "This is where people want to be."
It's not just new people moving to town, the 150,000-mark is thanks in part to Ashley and Jason Defranco's baby boy, Luca. "He was the one that got us there. No, I'm kidding," Ashley joked.
The couple came to Frisco 10 years ago with exactly this kind of growth in mind.
"That's why we moved here when we did, because we knew at the time we came up from Houston, and we had heard that Frisco was going to be developing and growing, and for awhile we waited and waited thinking, when's it going to happen, so now we're finally happening, and we're excited to see it," Ashley said.
As the skeleton of the new Cowboys headquarters continues to take shape, images of the planned hotel high-rise in Wade Park offer a vision of what's still to come.
"You have a real family feel, which we've always had in Frisco, but now you're kind of getting that younger feel as well, and all of the options that we really hoped for 10 years ago when we moved here, so it really is the best of both worlds," Jason said.
Even the potential downside of increased traffic is a price many in Frisco say they're willing to pay.
"Nobody really loves the traffic on Preston Road. I know I don't, but we live close to the tollway. We're fine with that. We pay tolls," Lisa Adkins said.
And at 150,000, Frisco's population isn't even half of what it could soon become. Buckner said, "It's hard to believe right now, but I'm sure it's going to get there faster than we think."
The city estimates Frisco's total build-out capacity to be just over 360,000 people.
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