Allen accepts 9.65-acre park donation for Sloan Corners development

Allen has secured a new public piece of one of its largest growth areas, accepting 9.65 acres of parkland inside Sloan Corners and tying that land to a planned green space that could eventually shape how thousands of future residents and workers experience the city’s southeast edge.

Allen City Council unanimously approved the donation at its April 28 meeting. The acreage is part of Bravo Park, a 30-acre park planned within Sloan Corners, the mixed-use development rising at the southwest corner of US 75 and SH 121. Five acres of Bravo Park are already open, and the newly accepted land is the first phase of several parkland dedications tied to the project, Deputy City Manager Eric Strong said.

The park is expected to include walking trails, a pond, pickleball courts and dog parks, making it both a neighborhood amenity and a public-facing green space for a development that is otherwise expected to bring a heavy concentration of private investment. Allen Economic Development Corporation describes Sloan Corners as a 261-acre mixed-use district with 23 acres of parks and 6 acres of ponds. Billingsley Co. says the broader project is planned to include 10.6 million square feet of office space and 6,000 apartments.

That scale is why the park donation matters beyond the acreage itself. Sloan Corners is not a standalone subdivision; it is being built as a regional destination that will add jobs, housing and activity near two of Collin County’s most important highways. Community Impact reported earlier in April that the project spans about 480 acres across Allen and Fairview and carries an estimated $3 billion price tag, underscoring the size of the long-term buildout.

The city also approved a park maintenance agreement requiring Sloan Corners to cover the cost of maintaining the park to city standards. That arrangement gives Allen a public asset without asking taxpayers to carry the upkeep, a point city officials described as a major win as the development moves forward.

The land donation also fits Allen’s larger planning goals. The city’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan treats parks, community facilities and infrastructure as core policy areas, and Allen Parks and Recreation has long aimed to put every resident within a 10-minute walk of a park. That goal mirrors the national 10-Minute Walk campaign, launched in 2017 by the Trust for Public Land, the National Recreation and Park Association and the Urban Land Institute to promote access to quality green space close to home.

For Allen, the 9.65 acres are not just a transfer of land. They are a visible test of whether a major private development can deliver real public space, expand park access and still leave the city with a place that feels like more than an amenity tucked inside a commercial project.