BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
Diving in deeper
What’s next
at Willow Bend, with both transitioning from traditional indoor malls to include a more diverse set of uses. Braster said that the major difference is that The Shops at Willow Bend is still open, putting it in the “right spot to redevelop in a more sustainable way.” “We all watched Collin Creek die,” Braster said. “And to have another great asset like Willow Bend do the same thing... we couldn’t let that happen.”
The Bend plays into the city’s current plan for redevelopment, Plano Director of Special Projects Peter Braster said, as the city has little green space left, and future growth will focus on redevelopment. “You have to keep up growing and evolving,” Braster said. “Maybe not outward in geographics, but still, growth happens.” Of the other major redevelopments in Plano, the Collin Creek Mall is most similar to The Shops
"We still feel like the vision and the strategy for the center is correct, but we just need to pivot in how we actually implement that."
MICHAEL PLATT, CENTENNIAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
The project’s first phase is set to break ground this year, according to a news release from Centennial. Construction will start on the southern half of the mall, focusing on the construction of the apartment buildings, the release states. “Willow Bend is yesterday’s suburban mall— it was designed for a different era,” Platt said. “The one thing that really doesn’t work on this site is what’s there today.”
Plano’s two largest indoor malls are both in the process of major redevelopments. Reinventing retail
Malls
Square footage
Residential Units
Open space (acres)
Hotel(s)
1.4M sq. ft.
965
10 acres
1
Willow Bend Mall
1.1M sq. ft.
3,100
8 acres
1
Collin Creek Mall
SOURCE: CITY OF PLANO/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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