Celina, Texas — Nov. 12, 2026. Celina just traded road-building relief for road land, and the numbers say a lot about what frontage on north Preston Road is worth.

On Nov. 10, the Celina City Council approved two right-of-way agreements for Stallcup Boulevard, between Preston Road and the western edge of the Serenade community. Both were on the consent agenda, which passed 7-0 with no items pulled for discussion, according to the meeting video.

Under the deals, two neighboring landowners will donate 100-foot-wide strips for the road. In exchange, neither one will have to build Stallcup's other two lanes when its land develops.

Location: Stallcup Boulevard at N. Preston Road, Celina, on Google Maps (approximate; the city's map puts the right-of-way on the east side of Preston Road in far north Celina, west of Serenade).

The Two Deals

From memos by Engineering Director William Janney in the council packet:

• Preston Road 40 Ltd. will dedicate 3.04 acres of 100-foot right-of-way, which a September 2026 appraisal valued at $1,800,000. The estimated cost of the two lanes it no longer has to build is $3,108,281. The agreement also covers a 120-foot right-of-way for the Stallcup and Preston Road intersection. It describes Preston 40's land as about 29.98 acres and 7.50 acres.
• FSA & S Collin County LLC will dedicate 1.956 acres, which the appraisal valued at $860,000. The estimated cost of its two lanes is $1,080,657.

Together, the two strips were appraised at $2.66 million.

Why the City Made This Deal

Stallcup is planned as a four-lane divided thoroughfare from Preston Road to Peterman Parkway. Celina signed a development agreement for Serenade in January 2022 with HC Celina 414 LLC. A July 2023 amendment made the city responsible for building two lanes of Stallcup from Preston Road to Serenade's western property line, right-of-way included. Council approved the deal points with both owners in June 2026, and these agreements make those terms official.

The Preston 40 deal has a twist. A 50-foot easement for a high-pressure gas line runs along Stallcup's original route, so Preston 40 agreed to move the road entirely onto its own property. Staff says the new alignment cuts through Preston 40's planned development and shrinks the land it can build on. Staff also says Preston 40 wouldn't have owed the other two lanes if the original route had held. The memo says the agreement avoids "a likely eminent domain filing," and that without it the project would face major delays and rising right-of-way costs.

In both memos, the city says it is not waiving future impact fees. For the FSA & S deal, staff projects those fees to cover the difference in value. For Preston 40, staff says they'd cover "a portion" of it. The packet lists Stallcup as an FY 2026 and FY 2027 project.

Why This Matters for Land

1. There's a number on north Preston Road frontage. Read it carefully. The appraisals work out to about $592,000 an acre (roughly $13.59 a square foot) for the Preston 40 strip and about $440,000 an acre (roughly $10.09 a square foot) for the FSA & S strip. Those are my math on appraised values for right-of-way strips. They aren't sale prices, and they aren't a floor for nearby land. Right-of-way appraisals have their own rules, and a road strip isn't a developable pad. Treat them as a data point, not a comp.

2. The real trade is land for infrastructure. By staff's own numbers, each owner skips lane costs worth more than the land it gives up: about $1.31 million more for Preston 40 and about $220,657 more for FSA & S. Preston 40 also gives up developable land to the realignment. If you own frontage on a planned thoroughfare in a fast-growing city, this is the kind of deal you can negotiate, especially when the city has its own obligation to deliver the road.

3. Hidden easements move roads. One gas-line easement shifted an entire arterial onto a different owner's land. Before you underwrite frontage on a planned road, pull the title work and look for pipeline and utility easements. The line on the thoroughfare plan isn't final until the right-of-way is dedicated.

4. A road means access for north Celina. With the right-of-way settled, the city can move forward on two lanes connecting Preston Road to Serenade. A new east-west connection usually changes what the land along it is good for. The Preston 40 agreement says it wants improvements to serve future development on its adjacent land. The packet doesn't say what that development will be, so I won't guess.

If you own land along a planned thoroughfare in Celina or Prosper and want a second set of eyes on a right-of-way request, email me at Dan@CooperLandCompany.com or visit cooperlandcompany.com.

Sources

• City of Celina, City Council meeting video, Nov. 10, 2026 (consent agenda approved 7-0 at about 46:32 to 47:15): https://celinatx.new.swagit.com/videos/408360
• City of Celina, City Council agenda, Nov. 10, 2026 (consent items K and L): https://celinatx.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=4619,plainText=false)
• City of Celina, City Council agenda packet, Nov. 10, 2026 (Janney memos, staff presentations, location maps and agreements, packet pages 254 to 300; large file): https://celinatx.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=4620,plainText=false)
• Serenade Planned Development zoning, Ordinance No. 2024-40 (City of Celina): https://www.celina-tx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12710/Serenade
• Celina.news, "Stallcup Boulevard land deals would swap $2.66 million in right of way for relief from building the road's outer lanes" (Nov. 8, 2026, pre-meeting; AI-assisted, edited by Jake Team): https://celina.news/article/stallcup-boulevard-land-deals-would-swap-2-66-million-in-right-of-way-for-relief-from-building-the-road-s-outer-lanes

Related Reading

• Celina Waives $7.5 Million in Fees to Land Its First Target at Preston Road and the Outer Loop: https://cooperlandcompany.com/details/4457

This article is general information, not legal, appraisal or investment advice.