Spring is in full swing, and the time has come to thank and honor our mothers, recognize and applaud our graduates, and hope for benign weather. I hope everyone finds an opportunity to enjoy this season of renewal.
Argyle is a member of the Metroport Chamber of Commerce, an organization that promotes the commercial interests of seven communities along the Alliance Corridor, which follows I-35W between Forth Worth and Denton. The leaders of Northlake, Justin, Roanoke, Trophy Club, Westlake and Haslet annually deliver State of the Communities presentations to update the members of the Metroport Chamber.
In my recent address to the Chamber, I talked about anticipated commercial development of the Alliance Corridor in Argyle and our Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). The town’s economic future depends on rapidly increasing the share of our budget that comes from commercial activity near I-35W, in the form of both commercial property taxes and sales taxes. The Argyle Independent School District likewise has a vital interest in the pace of realizing commercial property tax revenue at these locations.
We now have much better information about what uses are likely to be built on the Argyle section of the Alliance Corridor, thanks to the work of the Municipal Development District (MDD) and the town staff. Retail operators interested in the North Texas market, companies who want to establish or grow non-retail operations and investors/landowners are seeking to understand what uses the town will support on this important real estate. Based on our leadership’s interactions with citizens, I previewed a few of the top priorities for Argyle citizens to those attending the Metroport event.
Quality retail and food service hospitality top the wish lists of most Argyle citizens. Fortunately, those are the most likely and earliest uses that will appear on the property near the interstate. In our ETJ, north of FM 407 and west of I-35W, Harvest Town Center will be the first location to develop. By the end of 2023 construction should be well underway on the site, including retail, food service hospitality and a large grocery store.
The first business that has been disclosed for Harvest Town Center is Chick-Fil-A, but more announcements are just ahead. Citizens are also interested in commercial office, entertainment, and other uses that do not add significant population density and are consistent with the fundamental objectives of the Argyle Comprehensive Plan.
The Metroport Chamber is a useful forum for exchanging ideas on how member jurisdictions can make the most of development and work together to manage how growth affects the quality of life of the people who live in the region. The impacts of development should be considered on a regional basis, which led me to forge productive working relationships with the leadership of Denton County and the local communities that surround Argyle, including Precinct 4 Commissioner Dianne Edmondson, Northlake Mayor David Rettig, and Roanoke Mayor Scooter Gierisch.
Our regional cooperation has already produced significant benefits, as it has stepped up our ability as a team to advocate for key budget priorities at the County and State level. In November of 2021, Commissioner Edmondson, Argyle Town Administrator Rich Olson, MDD Vice President Brian Darnell, Mayor Rettig, Northlake Town Manager Drew Corn, and I met with TXDOT and Hillwood representatives to discuss a near-term solution to the already congested conditions on FM 407 where it crosses I-35W. Hillwood had communicated to Northlake, Argyle and the Commissioner that Harvest Town Center was on its way. The working group developed an approach to providing congestion relief that has now been funded and is in the design and engineering process.
The project, named the “FM 407 Breakout,” will include improvements to the road starting east of Gateway Boulevard in Argyle and stretching west to Cleveland-Gibbs Road in Northlake. The construction start date for the project has been set for mid-2023. At completion, the Breakout will include three contiguous lanes in each direction, including modification or the early replacement of the I-35W bridge. The traffic congestion relief provided by the Breakout will come much earlier than expected and will help to manage the traffic created by the growth of commercial on the Corridor.
The Argyle-Northlake-Denton County team has also secured a change to the construction schedule for the FM 407 improvements from Justin to FM 1830, originally planned for a 2029 start. TXDOT is now working toward a ready-to-let target of 2025.
Working together with neighboring towns and the county is already paying handsome dividends to Argyle citizens. As the pace of development in Denton County increases in the years ahead, we must prioritize strengthening joint efforts with our neighbors to bring vital resources to Argyle. Carefully managed commercial development on the Alliance Corridor will provide Argyle with the resource base needed to preserve the small-town character and low population density of the rest of the town.
Argyle Seniors Update
Submitted by Stella McDaniel
The Argyle seniors had a great time at their Easter luncheon. Several had their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. We were honored to have several new people attend, also our Mayor Bryan Livingston and his wife Barbara and several of the Town Council members.
Our sincere thanks to the anonymous person who donated gifts for our Bingo game. Also the donut shop here in Argyle for the donuts.
We are very happy to have someone take the kitchen job. And again our thanks to the anonymous person that is paying for our kitchen help.
In June we will honor our fathers. Please bring a picture of your dad to share. Hope to see everyone at our June luncheon Friday June 3rd.
Please let Stella McDaniel, president, know if you plan to attend at (940) 391-6686 so we can set up enough chairs to seat everyone.
The town is working on trying to make room for the seniors to have more than one day a month for exercise and to play games. We will let you know as soon as we know something.
The Argyle Senior Citizen Organization is overjoyed to have all these hard working ladies on the board. Our thanks to all of them!
Vice President: Karen Kiel
Secretary: Jody Bellinghausen
Treasurer: Cheron McClintock
Publicity: Vivian McLain
Hospitality: Yvonne Gamble
Decorations: Barbara Livingston
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