The Marco Development Locks In Prosper's Tollway Corner

Prosper Town Council voted unanimously on Oct. 27 to approve zoning for The Marco development, a 143-acre mixed-use district at the northeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. 380. Blackard Companies plans to build it around a navigable lagoon and canal system modeled on Venice.

The Dallas Business Journal estimates the project at $2 billion. Town Manager Mario Canizares called it "the biggest in the town's history, so we want to get it right."

The Venetian theme drives the headlines. The land story sits underneath it. Prosper just entitled its most visible tollway corner for high-intensity mixed use, and the infrastructure timeline lines up with the next Dallas North Tollway extension north of U.S. 380.

What Prosper Approved for The Marco Development

The approved case, ZONE-26-0009, amends a portion of Planned Development-42 and rezones a commercial tract into a single mixed-use planned development. The site covers 143.0 acres across the Collin County School Land Survey and the J. Yarnell Survey.

The zoning sets maximums by product type. The developer can shift the mix, but two caps are fixed: 4,400 total units and 2,500 mid-rise apartments.

The commercial program carries equal weight:

• More than 1 million square feet of Class A office, including up to two corporate campuses at the hard corner
• Office buildings up to 14 stories, placed to block roadway noise from the interior
• Up to two waterfront hotels on the east and west edges of the lagoon
• A market square and grocery store on the northwest corner, paired with villas and townhomes
• A 15.5-acre lagoon that also serves as regional stormwater infrastructure

That last item matters more than it looks. The lagoon replaces a conventional detention pond, so the signature amenity is also core site infrastructure. It gets built first, and it gates every residential opening.

The Multifamily Guardrails Council Added

The path to approval was not clean. The Prosper Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 4-2 on Aug. 18. Chairman Damon Jackson and Commissioner Josh Carson voted no, citing open questions on permitted uses, building heights and minimum unit sizes.

Commissioner Glen Blanscet noted the application leaned heavily on renderings. Development Services Director David Hoover said enforceable details like materials, heights and setbacks get defined later through the development agreement and site plans.

Council tabled the item on Sept. 22. When it returned on Oct. 27, the revised plan carried new triggers aimed at multifamily:

1. Mid- and high-rise multifamily is prohibited in certain areas of the site.
2. No residential units can open until the lagoon is complete.
3. After the first 1,000 mid-rise apartments, at least 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space must be built before more open.
4. Every apartment building requires open space and a pet area.

These triggers matter for underwriting. They tie the residential pace of The Marco development to the delivery of non-residential space. That slows the apartment rollout and reflects council concern about multifamily outpacing commercial.

Four Agreements Still Stand Between Zoning and Dirt Work

Zoning is the framework, not the green light. According to Hoover, council must still approve development agreements in four areas, ideally by year end:

• Economic incentives
• Building standards and refined permitted uses
• Impact fee waivers
• Parks and open space

Once those agreements are in place, a project representative said lagoon and site-wide infrastructure work would start in late 2027. Buildout could take five to seven years after construction begins.

Two of those agreements, incentives and impact fee waivers, directly shape project economics. If either stalls, the schedule moves. Anyone underwriting adjacent land against The Marco development should treat late 2027 as a target, not a commitment.

Two other items remain open:

• Performing arts center: Jeff Blackard, principal of Blackard Companies, hopes to partner with Prosper ISD, whose voters approved $125 million for a performing arts center in the 2023 bond. As of September, no plans were finalized with the district.
• Capital partner: The Dallas Morning News reports Bill Cawley of Cawley Partners is partnering on the project. Cawley is also a development partner on the Dallas Stars' planned $3 billion arena district at the former Willow Bend mall in Plano.

What The Marco Development Signals for Dallas North Tollway Land

The Timeline Lines Up With the Tollway Extension

The North Texas Tollway Authority plans to open a new tollway segment from U.S. 380 to FM 428 in late 2027. Once it opens, Prosper will hold roughly 3 miles of tollway frontage. The Marco development's infrastructure start lands in the same window.

Mayor David Bristol framed the stakes early, telling Community Impact the corridor plan is "literally a blueprint for the next 25 to 50 years." That horizon is the right lens for land along this stretch. The tracts north of the intersection become the next frontage in play.

Investors Were Already Positioned

Capital moved into this corridor before The Marco surfaced. DFW Land, led by CEO Vijay Borra, bought a 50-acre tract just north of U.S. 380 on the east side of the tollway extension in 2023. The group added 71 acres at the southwest corner of the tollway and Mahard Parkway in 2024.

Zoning on the hard corner tests those positions. A high-intensity anchor with office, hotel and retail generally firms up pricing expectations on nearby frontage, particularly tracts with tollway or U.S. 380 access.

Intensity Sets the Bar for Neighboring Cases

Prosper's Future Land Use Plan designates this area the Dallas North Tollway District, which calls for the town's most intense land uses. Economic Development Director Madison Clark described the approval as "turning key acreage into a long-term economic engine."

The Marco development is now the largest test of what that district designation means in practice. Neighboring applicants will cite its caps and heights. Council can cite its phasing triggers just as easily. Watch for these multifamily guardrails to resurface in other tollway planned development negotiations.

What to Watch Next

• Development agreement votes on incentives, impact fees, building standards and parkland, targeted for year end
• Prosper ISD action on the performing arts center partnership
• NTTA progress on the U.S. 380 to FM 428 segment
• Land trades along the tollway north of U.S. 380 over the next 12 months
• Follow-on zoning cases in the Dallas North Tollway District that reference The Marco's standards

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Marco development in Prosper?

The Marco development is a 143-acre mixed-use district that received zoning approval on Oct. 27, 2026, at the northeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. 380. Plans include a 15.5-acre navigable lagoon, more than 1 million square feet of office, up to two hotels and up to 4,400 residential units.

Who is building The Marco?

Blackard Companies, led by Jeff Blackard. He also developed Adriatica Village, a 45-acre mixed-use project in McKinney modeled on a Croatian fishing village.

When will construction start on The Marco development?

The developer expects lagoon and site infrastructure work to begin in late 2027, after council approves four development agreements. Buildout could take five to seven years once construction starts.

How many homes can be built at The Marco development?

Zoning caps the project at 4,400 units, with no more than 2,500 mid-rise apartments.

The Bottom Line on The Marco Development

The Marco development converts Prosper's most visible tollway corner from a commercial planned development into a mixed-use entitlement with fixed caps and phasing gates. What it does not have yet is a finished deal. The four development agreements decide whether site work starts in late 2027 or slides.

For owners and buyers along the corridor, the next round of council votes carries more signal than the renderings.

Request a Dallas North Tollway Corridor Land Brief from North 40 Land Group to see which Prosper and Celina tracts sit in The Marco's path, what is already entitled nearby and how recent trades compare.

References

1. Town of Prosper Advances Plans for The Marco Development
   Cited for: council approval date, site location, office program, stormwater function of the lagoon, Madison Clark quote.
2. Town of Prosper Development at a Glance
   Cited for: case number ZONE-26-0009, PD-42 amendment, survey and acreage description.
3. Prosper greenlights $2B Venetian village on Dallas North Tollway
   Cited for: unit caps, P&Z vote and dissents, revised multifamily triggers, four pending agreements, late 2027 start, NTTA extension, Mario Canizares quote.
4. Venetian village on the tollway advances to Prosper council
   Cited for: 14-story office heights, David Hoover on enforceable standards, Glen Blanscet comment, Prosper ISD bond, David Bristol quote.
5. Prosper approves rezoning for multibillion-dollar Italian-inspired village
   Cited for: unanimous vote, Bill Cawley partnership.
6. Italian Venice in Texas? Prosper greenlights zoning for $2B canal village
   Cited for: $2 billion estimate attributed to the Dallas Business Journal, five to seven year buildout.
7. Prosper Approves $2 Billion Italian-Inspired Village With a 15-Acre Lagoon
   Cited for: Adriatica Village acreage and Croatian inspiration.
8. Prosper development site sells near U.S. 380 intersection with tollway
   Cited for: DFW Land 50-acre purchase in 2023.
9. Large Prosper landowner buys 71 more acres
   Cited for: DFW Land 71-acre purchase at the tollway and Mahard Parkway in 2024.
10. Planned Development for Bella Prosper, Town Council staff report
    Cited for: Dallas North Tollway District designation in the Future Land Use Plan.