Welcome to Frisco

I am a proud member of the city of Frisco, Texas when I am not a full-time student at Texas A&M.  I have lived in Frisco since I moved to Texas in 2004.  I previously lived in Florida before moving to Texas.  The city was named for the St. Louis-San Francisco railway that passed through town.  This railway is why the city was established originally.  Frisco has seen a resounding amount of change over the years, going from farm town and railroad destination to burgeoning suburb.  

Frisco is located in both Collin and Denton county, just north of the city of Plano.  Frisco's population has sky rocketed to 129,574.  This is astounding, because most of the population growth has come in the last decade.  The city's population was at 33,714 when the 2010 census was taken.  This means the city's population has increased by 284% in 12 years.  For some perspective on how rapidly Frisco's population has grown, the city was named the fastest growing city in the entire United States in 2009.  

Frisco is primarily filled with married families.  67% of households consist of married couples, most with children.  Only 21.7% of all households had no family presence.  97% of Frisco's population has at least a high school degree, and 62% of the population has a bachelor's degree or higher.  Because most households are two parent families, the median income for the city is quite high.  The median income is $109,086. 

Most attractions and businesses are family oriented.  Frisco is filled with high priced homes, and large pieces of real estate.  Stonebriar Mall is one of the largest malls in the state of Texas.  It was opened in August 2000.  The mall includes 165 stores, and a 24 theatre AMC movie theatre.  

Stonebriar Mall

In the year 2005, the city of Frisco built an IKEA store.  IKEA is the largest furniture manufacturer in the world.  The Frisco IKEA sits at the city limits and is built right above a large welcome to Frisco sign, that welcomes visitors to the city.  

IKEA Frisco

My three personal favorite landmarks in Frisco are Dr. Pepper Arena, Dr. Pepper Ballpark, and FC Dallas Stadium (formerly known as Pizza Hut Park).  Frisco has a glut of minor league organizations that all play in one of these three buildings.  Dr. Pepper Arena is where the NHL's Dallas Stars practice, and where the minor league hockey team the Texas Tornados play.  Dr. Pepper Ballpark is where the Texas Ranger's AA baseball team the Frisco Rough Riders play.  FC Dallas Stadium is my personal favorite of the three.  FC Dallas Stadium is in the center of town.  FC Dallas Stadium is where the MLS team FC Dallas plays their home games.  FC Dallas Stadium is also one of the two stadiums where all FISD football teams play their games.  I personally got to play out many of my high school hero fantasies at FC Dallas Stadium as the center for the Frisco High School Raccoons football team (I am not making that up. I went to Frisco High School, home of the Frisco Fighting Raccoons).  FC Dallas Stadium is the location of Jimmy Buffett's concert in Frisco.  This is my favorite concert event of the year.  The stadium parking lot transfers is too an enormous lot filled with cars, RV's, and golf carts filled with people ready for the city's largest party of the year.  People plan their schedules around the Jimmy Buffett concert each year, just so they won't miss out on the biggest event the city throws each year.

Dr. Pepper Arena

Outside view of Dr. Pepper Ballpark

View from the outfield of Dr. Pepper Ballpark

Jimmy Buffett at FC Dallas Stadium

FC Dallas Stadium as Pizza Hut Park

My Favorite Guest Speaker Ever

Speaking on behalf of the average college student, most of us loath to hear when a guest speaker is coming to talk.  Most of us would try to find an excuse to not attend class that day if it were not for the inevitable test questions that will show up on the next exam.  Save from Joe Stallard from Sewell Automotive Companies (a company I chose to work for after hearing Mr. Stallard speak), and former CIA member Joe Olsen, I have never enjoyed a guest speaker in class.  Our recent guest speakers in FINC 371, Mike Gentry and Dr. Samuel Harrison, are the new exceptions to my previous disdain for guest speakers.  Both Mr. Gentry and Dr. Harrison managed to grab my attention, which is not necessarily an easy task.

Both men came to speak to our class about a land development project they began to work on 18 months ago.  Dr. Harrison is the owner and developer of the land; Mr. Gentry is Dr. Harrison's real estate attorney on the deal.  Most of the two men's presentation detailed the project, specifically many of the legal hoops that need to be jumped through to complete a project.

Dr. Harrison's family inherited the land through a poker match that one of his great grandfather's won.  The land is a large plot that is located near Highway 6 and Briarcrest Drive, where the former town of Booneville, Texas was located.  Dr. Harrison and his family finally decided to develop the land when several suitors came to him with an offer price he simply could not refuse.  Future businesses that will be located on the land is a hotel that is currently being constructed and a mega gas station that is a direct competitor to Aggie owned and operated Buc-ees.  

Several steps have been taken in an effort to develop the land for commercial use.  The land used to house an oil pipeline that was used for transport into the Houston area.  Upon its removal, some oil was spilt.  This small oil spill was a concern, as it could cause foundation issues.  The two men decided the land that was affected by the oil needed to be replaced with clean soil to remedy the situation.  This setback cost $250,000, and precious development time.  The project also required a search for historical artifacts on the land.  Because the land is located near the historic former town of Booneville, the project would have been stalled further if any historical artifacts from the old town were found on the land.  Thankfully for the projects sake, there were no artifacts found on the grounds.

The two men also discussed real estate contracts with us.  Typically, a suitor looking to build on land will put money into an escrow account with the developer.  This is different from a down payment.  The escrow account reserves the land for a purchaser while feasibility tests are being conducted on the land.  The purchaser can choose to go through, or not to go through with the contract after all of the testing is completed.  The two also told us that it is customary to not go through with the zoning process until you have buyers reserved.  By waiting to lock in buyers before deciding what to zone land for, you can open your land up to a wider variety of businesses willing to purchase your land.  It also makes the buyer responsible for acquiring zoning rights during feasibility testing.  Other things the men discussed with us were Tirz maps, the platting process, the begging and pleading associated with TxDOT, and the trend of moving away from "big box development."

There were several features of this guest lecture that made it particularly interesting to me.  I enjoyed how candidly the two men were discussing their real development project.  It is rare to hear about real examples in class, aside from case studies.  What separated this from most case studies, is that it is not finished.  Both Mr. Gentry and Dr. Harrison are still very much in the thick of the development process.  I also enjoyed the legal aspect of this lecture.  I personally will be attending law school next fall after graduating later this spring.  I have not made a decision as to which variety of law I plan on studying, but I know I would like to stay in a field that allows me to utilize my finance degree.  This lecture made me realize that I have an interest in real estate, and that a career in real estate law is feasible.  I hope that any other guest speakers I hear in this class, or any other class, for the rest of my last semester can clear the high bar Mr. Gentry and Dr. Harrison have personally set for me.