With a desire to create an urban-style node in North Texas, the development partnership behind the $1.8 billion Frisco Station mixed-use development brought in an Austin-based theater chain that got its start in the region in downtown Dallas.
The eight-screen Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is the latest addition to a 242-acre development dubbed The Hub at Frisco Station. The project sits at the northwest corner of Warren Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway adjacent to The Star in Frisco and the Dallas Cowboys' world headquarters and practice facility.
"This is a very important and significant anchor to The Hub at Frisco Station," Robert Folzenlogen, a senior vice president at Fort Worth-based Hillwood Properties, told CoStar News. "Our goal with The Hub is to get a mix of local unique chef-driven products with more national brands that do well in high-density, urban environments."
Hillwood has partnered up with Kansas City-based VanTrust Real Estate LLC and The Rudman Partnership on the development of Frisco Station. The partnership is just one of several developers seeking to bring urban-style developments to North Texas' growing suburbs after the success of developer Fehmi Karahan's vision for the $3.2 billion Legacy West project in Plano.
The Texas partnership behind Frisco Station is wrapping up construction on Station House, a 301-unit, mid-rise apartment community scheduled to deliver by this summer. Work is also underway on a new 25-story SkyHouse residential tower, and a 600-room hotel campus that includes AC Hotel and Residence Inn nameplates by Marriott, and a Canopy by Hillwood.
The new Alamo Drafthouse will include the theater's new bar concept, Video Vortex, which features straight-to-video cult classics from the 1980s through the early 2000s. The bar plans to offer themed cocktails and 32 local drafts on tap.
The 1,200-seat theater would be Alamo Drafthouse's first Frisco location when it opens in 2020.
The theater chain was sold on the development site's location and Hillwood's history for "making great developments come to life," said Bill DeGaetano, the chief operations manager for Alamo Drafthouse DFW.
Meanwhile, Hillwood President Mike Berry said Alamo Drafthouse should help Hillwood, the master developer of The Hub at Frisco Station, create a sense of place and a vibrant environment for residents, guests and visitors.
Earlier this year, VanTrust Real Estate completed the first multi-tenant office building at Frisco Station. The development partnership has been marketing additional office space, including a 50-acre campus build-to-suit opportunity to would-be tenants shopping for office space.
For the record:
Tenant: Tyler Isbell of Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners represented Alamo Drafthouse Cinema DFW
Architect: Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative