Plano zoning commission approves first step for big changes to Shops at Willow Bend mall

PLANO, Texas — Developers have cleared the first step to bring big changes to Plano's Shops at Willow Bend mall. The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday approved Dallas based developer Centennial's request to re zone the mall to allow plans to build a mixed use development including a hotel, office space, retail and hundreds of apartments in place of a large swath of the existing mall.

City planners had raised concerns the plans did not completely comply with the city's existing comprehensive plan and some nearby residents wrote city officials complaining about the impact on traffic. However all of the public speakers at Tuesday's meeting were in favor of the plan. Developers said about a quarter of the storefronts in the existing 1.5 million square foot mall are currently vacant.

Inside the mall Tuesday, customer Himiko Sadiki described the emptiness as "depressing." "When you come to a mall that once was successful and now you're here, you start asking well what’s happening?" Sadiki said. "It feels like changes need to happen." The plans would keep the major big box anchor stores including Dillards, Macy's and Neimen Marcus.

The remaining sections would be turned into the proposed mixed use design, including open space, if the plans move forward. "In reality it can’t continue to operate as it does today," said David Rodenbaugh, the CEO of North Texas Performing Arts, which has an extensive theater complex inside the mall.

"COVID, in particular, was pretty rough on this mall." Rodenbaugh supports the proposed changes in part because Centennial has promised to incorporate NTPA into the new space. He now looks at it as an opportunity. "Its not going to be easy, change never is," he said. "We think that, at the end of the day, it’s the best thing for the city of Plano, it’s the best thing for the Shops at Willow Bend, and we think in the long term we think it’s the best thing for North Texas Performing Arts." The planning commission approval on Monday is not the final step; final approval of the plans is still required before construction can begin..