Scheduled for completion September 1, the Gates of Prosper is beginning to show glimpses of the finished product. Anyone driving close to the intersection at Preston Road and U.S. Highway 380 can get a view of the ever-changing landscape from the rising store walls to the planting of hundreds of trees as construction continues.

The finished property should contain 550,000 square feet of space which will include a location for a sub-station for the Prosper Police Department. This will allow police to be on site to monitor the large retail property and its surrounding areas.

As with most construction projects, the end date can change regularly. Mayor Ray Smith says that is the case with the Gates of Prosper and he thinks a more realistic completion date may be closer to October 1. The goal is to be open before the shopping season for the holidays.

Pending a few outstanding leases, they hope to have it filled by the end of the year says Smith of the developer Blue Star Land and Lincoln Property. Joe Hickman, president of Blue Star Land, was a speaker for the Prosper Chamber of Commerce a couple of years ago, before construction began at the Gates of Prosper. He presented an overview of the project. He pledged that, even though the construction process would destroy the trees on the property at the time, an abundance of trees would be planted throughout the project. And a glance at the property today shows exactly that. Large trees are already being placed along the roadways within the project.

The Northeast corner of that intersection is only a portion of what is expected to be an 800-acre planned mixed-use development on both sides of Preston Road. Close to 20 years after the Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones purchased the land through his Blue Star Land company, part of the construction is coming together for a retail center that will greatly affect the town of Prosper and its tax income. The new shopping center will bring choices to Prosper residents that have not previously been available without traveling outside the community.

It’s an exciting time to be in Prosper with so much development and growth going on. Follow the Prosper Times for regular updates on existing projects as well as The Gates of Prosper.

Joyce Godwin | Joyce@CedarbrookMedia.com