01.
The LAND
The land in question is 8 acres to the south of your North Creek subdivision. Less than 3.5 acres of it will ever be developed.
02.
THe Vision
For a year & a half, I marketed the land as a commercial tract. I targeted day care operators and retail strip developers as the ideal uses for the site.
03.
The opportunity
A very experienced local owner of multiple Montessori schools in Collin County put the land under contract, but he needs your vote to be able to buy it.
About me
My name is Brian Scott.
I have been a full time commercial real estate broker in DFW for over 35 years. I am the owner and broker for Landmark Commercial. You might have seen my sign on the land and the online offering showing the site is for sale as a commercial tract.
I am the only real estate broker on the transaction, not an investor. I created this website quickly to provide information to help relieve any concerns. Please feel free to call me on my cell phone at 817-721-6009 if you have any questions related to this vote. I can also be reached via email at bscott@landmk.com
A neighborhood amenity
The contracted buyer, Suresh Pancharpula, is proposing a Montessori school to be locally owned and operated. This would be his 9th location in the Collin County area when complete. In addition, he is proposing a small neighborhood shopping center further south on the site.
He provided the concept drawing on the left from another location, but it is very similar in design to what he wants to build on the site. It should be about 12,000 sf first class Montessori school.
I invite you to visit the website of one of his locations at https://ace-montessori.com/
Each school has a different name, but you’ll get a very good feel for the quality of his projects by reviewing the above website. He builds them and co-owns them with a managing partner then who will run the school. This is not a giant corporate entity leasing buildings for day cares with little or no commitment to the community. The Pancharpula family is local, they develop the properties, they continue to own the properties once developed and they are actively involved in the day to day operation. According to Suresh, they owe part of their success is their commitment to keep rates lower than their competitors while providing superior education in new Class A facilities.
The school will be developed on the portion of the developable land closest to North Creek, but the building will be nearly 400′ away from the closest point in any lot in the subdivision, and there are significant trees in between that serve as a natural barrier.
The maximum age served will likely be 6 years old. There should be no noise or loitering disturbances created at this site once opened. There will be no nighttime noise or traffic.
When complete, there should be sidewalks along Custer from the Montessori to North Creek without having to cross and streets or intersections, but there will not be a direct path into the back of the neighborhood. There will be median cuts to allow direct turn into the proposed development so residents of North Creek could leave the subdivision, turn left and turn left again into the development with no signals or stop signs and be back home within minutes.
This is a very low density use and there will be area remaining for a future small shopping center which the buyer may also develop. It would absolutely make sense.
I can never 100% guarantee anything as a broker, but I talked to hundreds of potential commercial prospects for the site, and this was clearly the most qualified prospect with the best proposed uses. He has already completed over 5 months of due diligence, including engineering work and meetings with the city to approve the design. I feel very confident he will close on the sale and develop the school as intended but only if the community votes to approve the amendment. All parties are heavily invested in making this project a reality.
MEET THE BUYER
An unexpected issue arose
I only handle commercial properties. The property was marketed as strictly commercial for about a year. My sign says commercial on it. The property went under contract and the buyer spent considerable effort, money and time with engineers creating site layouts for a Montessori school and future retail strip for approval by the City of McKinney. We were months into the process when a deed restriction error was discovered that limited the site to residential uses. It was a shock to all involved. We learned the error was due to an incorrect legal description on a filed document. The legal description for the residential restriction, mistakenly included this 8 acres of land which was never going to be developed for residential. The corrective amendment, if approved by enough homeowners, will fix that error. From experience, these types of corrective deeds are not commonplace, but I have dealt with similar matters over the course of decades as a broker. This is a mere formality to fix an issue that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
I welcome any questions you may have about the project or any part of this. I have an engineering degree and an MBA from Texas Tech, a real estate broker’s license, a Certified Commercial Investment Designation, and decades of full time commercial experience in DFW. If I felt that anything was not 100% ethical, I would not be involved. My reputation is worth more than any commission I might earn. I hold all parties in high regard on this transaction.
I believe this is a fantastic low impact project for the neighborhood and having a Montessori school will add value to the housing in the area.
Keeping the impact in perspective
You are probably aware of this Billingsley Huntington Park development as every homeowner in North Creek received notification of the rezoning public hearing that occurred earlier this month. Nobody spoke in opposition. The zoning commission unanimously approved the rezoning to significantly higher density for the huge 785 acres development. When Billingsley completes the development, it will have approximately 100 acres of townhomes, 70 acres of apartments, 175 acres of commercial and 375 acres of single family residences. It should come as no surprise to anyone in McKinney that the city is poised for massive growth.
Billingsley’s Huntington Park Development Plan
The Montessori school minimal impact by comparison
This is the same drawing as abov but it now has an overlay of your North Creek subdivision for comparison using the same color schemes as the new Huntington Park development. The area with red outline on the left below North Creek is the proposed commercial land, but out of the 8+ acres, less than 3.5 acres will ever be developed. The commercial area is shown in brown. The remainder will stay as open space shown in green. The little yellow rectangle represents the size of the Montessori school and the little green rectangle represents the location and size of the future possible retail strip center. That little brown portion is 3.49 acres represents approximately 1/2% of the acreage to be developed adjacent in Huntington Park.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are no guarantees in real estate where financing and unforeseen circumstances happen, but the seller can’t back out of the contract. There has been tremendous, time, effort and money involved in all sides getting through the complex due diligence and engineering. I can’t envision a reasonable scenario where it won’t close because there is too much at risk for all involved if it doesn’t. All parties to the transaction are extremely experienced with proven track records.
A Montessori school in walking distance will enhance the values in the area – it is a major amenity for many future residents. Proximity to high quality schools drives residential values in every market.
Even if you never visit the school, it is almost a certainty that you will visit the hyper-convenient shopping center many times in the future whenever it gets built.
The alternative to commercial is not just vacant land forever. The alternative is residential, likely high density. Residential is already an approved use for the site and the housing will very likely be much higher density and lower values. That won’t help your values, especially if it becomes many rental units in the future. Townhouse will be an amenity to nobody in North Creek so it won’t enhance anybody’s values.
The owners have invested significantly in engineering for the site so some development is a certainty.
I have invested in and brokered DFW real estate since 1987. I can say with confidence that anybody who votes no today will regret that vote in 25 years as townhomes will eventually turn into tired rental units.
If not enough yes votes are received, the land will never be commercial. I am just a commercial broker trying to facilitate a sale that I firmly believe is the highest and best use for the site. I have worked with the sellers to advocate for your community in seeking businesses that would not be a negative or nuisance to the residential neighborhoods.
I am just the real estate broker, period, so I will just move on. I don’t handle small residential land sales so the community will be at the mercy of whatever the present owner or future owner developer decides. They won’t need a vote from anybody for any residential uses.
How and when can I vote? What are my options?
Your HOA board intends to open online voting from Wednesday, April 23rd to Sunday, April 27th. Contact your HOA for more information on how to vote.
If You Vote Yes
If enough votes are received, it will mean that I fully expect Suresh Pancharpula to close on the property and commence construction of a Montessori school in the near future. A retail strip in the future further south on the property is a likelihood.
Obviously, that is my strongest recommendation.
If You Vote No
A No Vote will ensure that the property will not be developed as commercial, but more likely as townhomes, possibly rentals or multifamily.
I honestly don’t know why somebody would be opposed to the project, but please reach out before just voting no.
If You Don’t vote
Not voting has the same effect as voting NO. If we don’t get enought votes, the project will not move forward and you’ll definitely be seeing higher density residential, potentially rental units, on the site instead of a school and a retail center.