The Colony's Grandscape brings more entertainment to North Texas
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - A North Texas city once thought of as a quiet, lakeside suburb is quickly becoming one of the area's top entertainment destinations.
The Colony's Grandscape, right off the Sam Rayburn Tollway, has landed some of the most anticipated new restaurants, social activities and venues.
This week alone, three spots opened in the development: Quartino, World of Beer, and Sixes Social Cricket, which is America's first indoor, social cricket venue.
"This was almost a no-brainer first stop for us," Mike Lestingi, general manager of Sixes Social Cricket, said. "We think we have a great opportunity to grow and expose people to the game of cricket."
City leaders specifically look for novel concepts like Sixes to help put Grandscape on the map.
"Several years ago we decided that we wanted to have a destination location, to go out there and get something that people haven't ever seen before and may not even understand until it gets here," said Richard Boyer, the mayor of The Colony.
Earlier this month, crews broke ground on the second-ever "shared reality" entertainment venue in the U.S. Cosm's 87-foot LED dome will bring fan experiences to life, without the need for headsets or augmented devices.
"It's the world's best viewing experience meets your favorite sports bar, your favorite stadium, meets the best club section of the arena," said Jeb Terry, Cosm's president and CEO.
There are mixed-use developments across the metroplex, but what really sets Grandscape apart is the scale. If you've ever been to Nebraska Furniture Mart or seen a towering Ferris wheel from the highway, you get it.
"We had 400 acres to build this on," Mayor Boyer said. "It's really worked out great and there's still way more to come."
The room to go big is part of what's drawing new businesses.
"A lot of sites have come online, but this one in particular really bubbled up to the top," Terry said. "Not only because of what's going on in the community around it, The Colony, the growth."
According to the city, The Colony's sales and property tax revenue has nearly quadrupled since the development began.
In 2005, eight years before breaking ground on Nebraska Furniture Mart at Grandscape, the city received $3 million in sales tax revenue and $11 million in property taxes. Over the 2021-2022 fiscal year, those numbers were $11.8 million and $38.8 million respectively.
"As a result of dramatically growing the city's commercial tax base, the City Council has been able to reduce the property tax burden on residents with yearly reductions to the tax rate as well as a recently approved homestead exemption," said Blaine Crimmins, the communications director for The Colony.
The Colony and Grandscape are working to bring even more places to eat, shop and have fun.
PopStroke, a mini-golf experience designed by Tiger Woods, is expected to open at Grandscape in 2024.