More than three years after the groundbreaking, developers formally opened Plano’s $3 billion Legacy West development on Friday.
The ribbon cutting at the project’s centerpiece urban village is a milestone for one of North Texas’ most ambitious real estate endeavors.
“This project took an army to develop,” said Legacy West’s Fehmi Karahan. “A project like this one has consumed me – night and day, seven days a week for about three years.”
Developed by Karahan, KDC and Columbus Realty Partners, Legacy West is located on the Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121.
The project was built on 250 acres of surplus land surrounding retailer J.C. Penney’s headquarters.
This weekend’s celebration is to debut the Legacy West Urban Village, which has more than 300,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, about 300,000 square feet of office space, more than 1,000 apartments and a high-rise hotel.
The retail and restaurant center and most of the office space is already rented.
Restaurants in Legacy West include Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, Fogo de Chao, Mesero, Shake Shack, Taverna, True Food Kitchen and Toulouse.
Legacy West’s retailers include Bonobos, Coach, Fabletics, Filson, Johnny Was, Peter Millar, Pockets Menswear, Suitsupply, Tesla, Tommy Bahama, TUMI, and West Elm.
“You can make great projects, but if you don’t lease it doesn’t work,” Karahan said. “On the office leasing, we’ve been attracting some of the best names in the country.”
Aerospace giant Boeing recently announced plans to locate a new division headquarters in the Legacy West Urban Village.
And Toyota has just started moving the first of thousands of workers into its new North American headquarters located just up the street.
Liberty Mutual Insurance and JPMorgan Chase will start moving thousands more employees into Legacy West late this year.
More than 20,000 people will soon work in the development.