Fry Street developer asks for suggestions
United Equities to hold community meeting
Hailey Persinger
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: NEWS
In an effort to get plans for Fry Street back on track, United Equities is taking to the streets and asking Denton what it wants to see on the corner of Fry and Hickory streets.
In December, the Denton City Council denied United Equities the special use permit it needed to build a CVS pharmacy drive-through. The pharmacy agreed to be a part of the project only if it was granted the drive-through lane.
The plan was approved by Denton's Parking and Zoning committee but the city council saw the drive-through as a potential traffic and safety hazard and refused to grant the permit.
"We're all still kind of in shock," said Tim Sandifer, director of the Fry Street project for United Equities. "We've been developing in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for 15 years and we've never run into anything like this."
Now the 3.8-acre lot stands empty and United Equities is looking to Denton residents for new development concepts. The company scheduled a meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Village Church at 1106 W. Oak St. in hopes that someone will propose an idea the city council and the company can agree on.
Sandifer said United Equities has never had a community meeting regarding Fry Street, and Mike Cochran with Save Fry Street said the meeting is coming too late.
"To ask the neighbors - that's wonderful that they're doing this," Cochran said, but "they've had two years to do it, and it would have been so much simpler if they had just consulted with some of the neighbors before they tore down the old buildings."
Sandifer said he had high hopes for the meeting, but if there are no viable suggestions and the company cannot develop an approvable plan, he will not be opposed to selling the property.
Cochran said selling the lot would accomplish little in developing the Fry Street area.
"They could very easily do everything they planned just without the drive-through," Cochran said. "It's not an ideal situation. It's still going to be a mediocre strip center and that's a shame because it's a great piece of property and something truly innovative could go there."
In December, the Denton City Council denied United Equities the special use permit it needed to build a CVS pharmacy drive-through. The pharmacy agreed to be a part of the project only if it was granted the drive-through lane.
The plan was approved by Denton's Parking and Zoning committee but the city council saw the drive-through as a potential traffic and safety hazard and refused to grant the permit.
"We're all still kind of in shock," said Tim Sandifer, director of the Fry Street project for United Equities. "We've been developing in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for 15 years and we've never run into anything like this."
Now the 3.8-acre lot stands empty and United Equities is looking to Denton residents for new development concepts. The company scheduled a meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Village Church at 1106 W. Oak St. in hopes that someone will propose an idea the city council and the company can agree on.
Sandifer said United Equities has never had a community meeting regarding Fry Street, and Mike Cochran with Save Fry Street said the meeting is coming too late.
"To ask the neighbors - that's wonderful that they're doing this," Cochran said, but "they've had two years to do it, and it would have been so much simpler if they had just consulted with some of the neighbors before they tore down the old buildings."
Sandifer said he had high hopes for the meeting, but if there are no viable suggestions and the company cannot develop an approvable plan, he will not be opposed to selling the property.
Cochran said selling the lot would accomplish little in developing the Fry Street area.
"They could very easily do everything they planned just without the drive-through," Cochran said. "It's not an ideal situation. It's still going to be a mediocre strip center and that's a shame because it's a great piece of property and something truly innovative could go there."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
P. Hastings
posted 2/06/08 @ 6:20 AM CST
What a mess.
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