Argyle announced on Wednesday it came to a performance-based economic agreement in which the developer of the Heritage Tract pays to build $25 million worth of infrastructure at the site of a future commercial development.
The tract is 123 acres of land located in Argyle’s extraterritorial jurisdiction at the southwest corner of I-35W and Robson Ranch Road.
Originally, the tract was 196 acres before it was reduced to the current 123. It is the spot that was courting H-E-B before the grocer decided to build across the road in Denton, instead.
The developer agreed to pay for infrastructure needs like water and sewage lines, traffic lights, drainage facilities, sidewalk and other necessities.
According to Town Manager Mike Sims, the agreement is performance-based, which means the $25 million is paid by the developer and the town will reimburse the developer up to $20 million as the development generates tax revenue.
“We wanted to make sure [the developer] did what we wanted with all of that infrastructure and make sure it was well-built,” he said. “And they won’t receive any money from the town unless they actually hit certain sales tax benchmarks.”
Sims said 380 agreements like this are done with many developments, like when Argyle Market Place received funding from the town’s Municipal Development District to cover some costs.
However, the Town wanted to ensure the Heritage agreement was performance-based because it is a higher-volume project.
With traffic struggles in that area continuing to increase, Sims said the Town is working with Denton County and the Texas Department of Transportation to prepare surrounding roads.
“Part of it is the system,” he said. “We’re working with TxDOT and Denton County on frontage roads and, obviously the underpass of Robson Ranch under I-35W is a problem, so the county and TxDOT are working on that.”
The developer is also working to provide efficient traffic circulation on the roads within the development to keep drivers off the main roads.
According to Sims, the development is preparing to announce a hospital at the site. The plan is to give visitors the opportunity to go back and forth from the hospital to the retail and restaurants without having to drive on Robson Ranch Road.
Sims said additional announcements on what businesses will be moving into the project should be coming in 2026.
