Celina Waives $7.5 Million in Fees to Land Its First Target at Preston Road and the Outer Loop

Celina, Texas — Nov. 11, 2026. Celina just put a Target on its map, and it did it with a fee waiver, not cash.

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Celina City Council voted 7-0 to approve a Chapter 380 economic development agreement with Celina Towne Crossing, LLC. The project is a commercial center of about 45 acres at the northeast corner of Preston Road and the Outer Loop, anchored by a Target. I confirmed the vote on the city's meeting video. The motion carried "seven to zero" shortly after the council came out of executive session.

Community Impact reports that this will be Celina's first Target.

What the Developer Has to Deliver

The terms below come from the staff presentation shown at the meeting. Community Impact attributes that presentation to Anthony Satarino, president of the Celina Economic Development Corp. The signed agreement itself was not in the public agenda packet I reviewed.

  • Minimum capital investment: $90 million
  • Size: about 359,000 square feet of commercial space: a Target anchor, junior anchors, strip retail and commercial pad sites. Community Impact reports the Target at 145,000 square feet.
  • Target opening deadline: June 1, 2029
  • Three junior anchors: by June 1, 2029
  • Two full-service restaurants: by Dec. 1, 2029
  • Four strip retail centers: by Dec. 1, 2029

Community Impact reports that the developer has to hit those requirements to stay eligible for the incentives.

What Celina Gives

  • Fee waiver: The city agreed to waive 100% of building and impact fees for the whole development. Staff estimated the incentive at about $7.5 million.
  • Water feature: The city will pay to turn the project's proposed dry detention pond into a retention pond with enhanced landscaping.
  • Gateway: The agreement provides an easement for future gateway monuments that the city would build.

Staff told the council its return-on-investment analysis shows "a healthy return to the city" at five, 10 and 20 years. Community Impact reports Satarino estimated the city would more than double its investment within 10 years. No council member asked a question before the vote.

Why This Matters for Land

1. This corner is filling in. Community Impact places the site near Walmart Supercenter, Costco, Lowe's and The Home Depot. Add a 145,000-square-foot Target and three junior anchors, and the Preston Road and Outer Loop area looks more and more like a regional retail node, not just a neighborhood center. Pad sites and smaller tracts nearby tend to get more attention when a node like that takes shape.

2. Look at the deadlines, not just the headline. The incentive is tied to openings by June and December 2029. Until Target is actually open, it's a contract commitment. I wouldn't price a nearby pad as if the store were already pulling traffic. And don't treat a fee waiver as a market price. It tells you what the city was willing to give up, not what dirt nearby is worth.

3. Cities are paying for anchors with waivers. Celina didn't write a check here. It gave up fees it would otherwise collect. If you own commercial land and you're courting a big user, it's worth knowing how cities in this corridor structure these deals.

Also Approved Nov. 10

The same meeting settled two items I previewed last week, plus a few others worth knowing. Each vote below is from the city's meeting video.

  • Kia of Celina (approved 6-1). Council approved the PD-80 amendment allowing a Kia dealership on about 10 acres at the northwest and southwest corners of Dallas Parkway and Cobb Street. No one spoke at the public hearing. (My preview)
  • Edgewood Creek PID (all approved 7-0). Council levied assessments on Improvement Area 3: about 72 acres and 136 planned lots, with an estimated $9.3 million in authorized improvement costs. Staff put the average combined annual installment for a 50-foot lot at $2,942.86. Council then approved the Series 2026 special assessment revenue bonds for Improvement Areas 2 and 3. The city's financial advisor from Hilltop Securities said the bonds priced that morning "better than our projections," at a final par amount of $7.646 million, with net proceeds of about $5.94 million and a value-to-lien ratio of 4.25 to 1. Council also approved an interlocal agreement for Mustang Special Utility District to own and operate the PID's water and wastewater systems, while the city keeps the roads and drainage. (My preview)
  • Celina Stone Tract development agreement (approved 7-0). This sets future annexation and zoning for about 40 acres in the ETJ at the northeast corner of FM 455 and future J. Fred Smith Parkway. The zoning is commercial and light industrial, with at least 10 acres of commercial at the hard corner. One gas station and up to 10 acres of self-storage are allowed by right. The staff report says the agreement was updated after October to add language waiving rights under SB 840 and SB 15, the trade-off I wrote about in Celina's New Bargain.
  • Cordoba Estates (tabled to Dec. 8). The roughly 99-acre development agreement east of future Custer Road was tabled at the applicant's request.
  • Xeriscape rules (approved 7-0). New landscaping rules require xeriscape for commercial, nonresidential and multifamily landscape areas, landscape buffers, and non-functional HOA open space. Single-family yards can now use turf, xeriscape or a mix, after the city dropped its old 30% cap on xeriscape. The staff report says the rules apply to new projects in accordance with state law, and that xeriscape design "can be costly." If you have a project in planning, ask your engineer and landscape architect how the change affects your budget.

What I'm Watching

For Celina Towne Crossing, the next public steps should be plats and site plans for the center and any filings showing who controls the pad sites. For Cordoba Estates, Dec. 8.

If you own commercial or development land around Preston Road and the Outer Loop, or anywhere along Celina's growth corridors, I'm glad to talk through what these decisions mean for your tract. Email me at Dan@CooperLandCompany.com or visit cooperlandcompany.com.

Sources

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