Wylie Today

Well, City Councilman David Goss called it as the above picture was being taken by Anne Hiney of Troy Aikman and I on Wednesday evening. “There’s the lead-in picture for the Wylie Today story!”

Turns out he was right. I’m sure you will see plenty of pictures of this event in the next week or so as I couldn’t count the amount of cameras on-hand. I have a few from the event that I will post below, and I might just add a gallery here in the near future.  But to lead-in, yeah, that’s me and Hall of Fame quarterback, 3 time Super Bowl Champion, the greatest Fox Sports NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. I like to mix it up.

City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy was completely jubilant this evening and with good reason. The people involved have been working on this deal for over a year and tonight was another step towards $600,000 in additional sales tax revenue for the city. It was another step towards a thousand newly created jobs in the city. It was another step towards keeping the citizens of Wylie shopping in Wylie. I’m really surprised we didn’t see Mayor Mondy break out some Riverdance moves.

Major kudos go out to Wylie’s Public Information Officer, Craig Kelly. Aside from seeing him run around picking up yoga flyers someone had left on the tables, the event went on without a hitch. Hundreds of people were in attendance for the groundbreaking ceremony and Dickey’s BBQ.

On hand to speak at the event was Wylie Economic Development Corporation’s Sam Satterwhite, Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg, Direct Development Sr. VP Don Bouvier, City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy and Troy Aikman.

Mr. Bouvier related the event to an Oscar speech as he mentioned so many people involved from the beginning that required accolades. He spoke further about four legs of a table and if one breaks or can’t support the weight, the table fails. He spoke very highly of the City of Wylie staff and administration and said they delivered on everything they said they would do. Now it was Direct Development’s turn to deliver on their promises.

Super Target Summer of 2009!

Some other players that need mentioning are the City of Murphy and the City of Sachse. Murphy made a small plot of land available to Wylie that was required for the development at the corner of 544 and McCreary. Sachse agreed to build a road to connect the back end of the development to Hwy 78. As Mayor Mondy said, “This has truly been a community effort”.

Troy Aikman talked about the special place in his heart for Wylie. You see, his wife was born in Wylie, though she didn’t stay very long. “I’m pretty sure if there had been a Super Target here, she would have stayed a bit longer.” he mused continuing on to talk about credit card statements and things I am so completely familiar with. He went on to talk about how great Direct Development is and how proud he is to be a part of such a great team. He knows that Direct Development isn’t a build and run type of company. They plan, build and maintain. Their developments are works to be proud of and that is why he chose them.

Overall, the event was a huge success and we can expect to see bulldozers out in the fields within a few weeks as road construction begins. This thing is moving forward quickly, people. And a ton of people were involved to make it happen. This is a fantastic day for the Great City of Wylie.

Look for more images soon and the small images above are clickable, leading to a larger image.

Photos © 2008 wylietoday.com (except for the lead-in photo of the 2 awesome dudes. Thanks, Anne!)

PRESS RELEASE - DIRECT DEVELOPMENT TO DEVELOP 64.5 ACRE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT IN WYLIE

DALLAS, Texas (February 25, 2008) Direct Development, a private commercial retail real estate development and investment company, today announced that it has purchased 64.5 acres located at the southeast corner of FM 544 and McCreary Road in Wylie, Texas. Direct Development intends to develop a 575,000 square foot retail shopping center, Woodbridge Crossing Shopping Center, which will be the largest retail center located in Wylie when it is completed in the summer of 2009.

“Woodbridge Crossing would not have come to fruition without the collaboration of several key groups,” remarked Don Bouvier, Senior Vice President with Direct Development. “The City of Wylie, the Wylie EDC, Target Corporation, the previous owner—Don Herzog, and countless others worked together to bring this needed amenity to Wylie residents.”

This transaction involves a $12 million public-private partnership between the City of Wylie, the Wylie Economic Development Corporation and Direct Development. Direct Development will immediately develop more than 1.5 miles of adjacent roads, public utilities, traffic signals along FM 544, and a bridge over Maxwell Creek and receive reimbursement over a 12 year period. John Mondy, Mayor of Wylie, Mindy Manson, Wylie City Manager, and Sam Satterwhite, Wylie Economic Development Corporation, were very instrumental in the development, which is expected to kick-off with an April 2008 ground-breaking ceremony.

“Woodbridge Crossing will serve as a new gateway to our thriving, growing, City and have a positive impact on the quality of life and ongoing economic development efforts in Wylie,” said City of Wylie Mayor, John Mondy. “Partnerships with our neighboring cities, Murphy and Sachse, along with the hard work by city staff, City Council and Direct Development, were key to the success of this project.”

Super Target will be the anchor tenant of Woodbridge Crossing, with the Target Corporation simultaneously closing on 13.6 acres within the 64.5 acre development. A “to-be-named” department store, numerous “junior-anchor” retailers and several well-known restaurants have also expressed an interest in the project. More than 150,000 people within Wylie, Sachse, Murphy and East Richardson are within the development’s primary trade area.

The site is part of a 186 commercial planned development, owned by Herzog Development Corporation, which includes zoning for an adjacent 100 acre sports facility complex and a 20 acre senior housing project.

David Watson formed direct Development in November of 1997, and the company was recently ranked 22nd among the Dallas 100 fastest growing private companies. In May of 2006, Troy Aikman joined the firm as principal due to the firm’s integrity and quality of development projects. Over the last 10 years, Direct Development has developed or acquired 33 shopping centers comprising over 3 million square feet of commercial retail properties, and has offices in both Dallas and Austin. Additional information on Direct Development is available at www.ddevelopment.com or call (214) 891-3222.

Red Byboth was elected to Wylie’s City Council in 2006, but he has been a valuable asset to the city since moving to Wylie 15 years ago. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the readers of Wylie Today. His response is much appreciated.

-What are your goals for 2008 as a city leader?

I would have to say; 1) get the bond projects going to a point where the citizens are seeing progress. Even though there has been a lot of activity in the areas of planning and preparation it is not as gratifying to the citizens as seeing buildings go up or roads actually being widened.

2) get the Jones tract developments underway in the same way so the citizens can see progress. Both, the Direct Development/ Target deal and the NFC Sports deal should break ground soon and upon completion add over $200 million to the property tax rolls while creating over 1200 new jobs.

-You spend a lot of time and personal resources volunteering for events in Wylie. What are some areas that could use extra help from others in 2008?

I can’t think of one civic organization or charity that has too many volunteers. My prayer would be that everyone finds one that peaks their interest and throws some time and money to it. My personal favorites are the First Baptist Church, WISD Education Foundation, the City, the Chambers of Commerce, the Community Christian Care Center, and the Schools. I help others when and however I can but all are worthy endeavors. Others to consider are Equest, Happy Circle, and Habitat for Humanity. In April the American Cancer Society is having it’s first ever in Wylie, “Relay for Life” at Shaffer Stadium. Since my mother just died from cancer I feel led to put a team in this event.

-What do you do for a living?

I own and try to operate Dallas Moving & Storage, Inc. here in Wylie. We specialize in the packing, relocation, and storage of nice households, hotel furnishings and fixtures, retail furniture delivery, sports logistics, and we are the largest distributor of Girl Scout cookies in the nation.

You can read more about Red Byboth on his website, http://www.redbyboth.com