COPPELL, TX –
An agreement in principle has been reached among the City of Coppell, The Coppell Independent School District, Luminant Generation Company and Billingsley Company that will result in the resolution of all previous litigation and complete the development addressing the use of close to 1,700 acres of land known as Cypress Waters.
Under the agreement the majority of the acreage will be owned by the City of Coppell, Coppell ISD and Billingsley. Luminant will retain a power plant on the site and water rights for the lake for a period not to exceed ten years, after which the property will be transferred to the City of Coppell. Additionally, Luminant will retain certain rights to develop Barnett Shale reserves from the property. Acreage listed below equates gross acres net of easements and natural gas sites.
- Billingsley 843 acres
- City of Coppell 475 acres
- Coppell ISD 122 acres
“This agreement will ensure we will continue to provide our students with the facilities necessary to achieve academic success,” said Dr. Jeff Turner, CISD Superintendent of Schools.
“From the beginning, the school district has wanted two things: 1) enough property to build school facilities to meet the needs of the students generated by the new Cypress Waters Development, and; 2) a master plan for the entire 1,700 acres in that North Lake area. We’ve accomplished both goals with this settlement,” he added.
“I am confident that our cooperative efforts will result in a beneficial outcome for everyone,” said Mayor Doug Stover. “I am very appreciative of the compromise by all parties. Of the few win-win situations in real life, thiswill certainly be one of them.”
“We are pleased that Luminant recognized our community’s concerns and will be contributing to the successful settlement of a complex issue in a way that will benefit the entire region,” he said.
“Cypress Waters has the chance to be the consummate New Urbanist Development in the North Texas area. Guided by the 10 Principles of Design Excellence by the North Texas Council of Governments, Billingsley hopes to create a community for offices and residentswith retail services respecting the environmentand tomorrow’s ideal lifestyles,” said Lucy Billingsley, Partner, Billingsley Company.
“The teams from all organizations have done a great job in representing their constituents and creating the possibility of a wonderful and environmentally sensitive community,” said Billingsley.
Under the agreement, if the utilities are delivered from Irving through an agreement with Dallas, Billingsley has agreed to cap the number of residential units in its Cypress Waters development at a reasonable density and to include a neighborhood of single family homes built along the east of the property, parallel to Irving’s existing communities. The school district and city will have land to develop additional facilities and infrastructure.
The City of Coppell will use the land it acquires for utility improvements including a pump station and storage. Future plans call for additional water storage and training areas for public safety agencies.
Coppell ISD will use the land it acquires for two new elementary schools, a high school and room for additional office space.
The agreement in principle announced today commits all parties to work together towards a final settlement agreement by September 17th. Both the City of Coppell and Coppell ISD have already arranged financing for the purchase of the land they are projected to receive in the agreement.
“We are now confident that we will have the land we need to be able to build facilities to serve a growing student population,” said CISD Superintendent Jeff Turner.
“Since the transaction first began, Luminant has been working with both the City of Coppell and the City of Irving to understand their long term concerns for the North Lake site and engage them in the transaction. Luminant is committed to working on behalf of the communities we serve, and therefore, we are pleased that this transaction was able to foster a comprehensive agreement that protects the interests and meets the needs of all parties involved,” said Brett Wiggs, Luminant vice president.
Media
Allan Koenig
214-875-8651
Allan.Koenig@luminant.com