Allen's first regular City Council meeting under new Mayor Chris Schulmeister lasted about 12 minutes on July 14, with no extended public comment or visible debate, according to the city's ACTV video recording.
The session at Allen City Hall, 305 Century Parkway, included a consent agenda, other business items and an executive session before adjournment. The specific items considered were not available from the city's posted records as of Thursday, July 17.
The brief meeting marks the start of Schulmeister's tenure atop a council overseeing one of the largest development pipelines in Allen's history.
Who is the new mayor
Schulmeister, a 40-year Allen resident, served six years on the council including two as mayor pro tem before winning the 2026 mayoral election. His term runs through 2029.
In a July 9 interview with the Allen American, Schulmeister said his priorities include guiding Allen through its transition to full build-out, downtown revitalization, neighborhood reinvestment and maintaining quality of life. The city's population reached 114,647 in 2025 and is projected to hit 140,000 at build-out, according to the city's fiscal year 2025 financial report.
Development pipeline approved earlier this year
Several major projects approved by the council in recent months form the commercial landscape Schulmeister now oversees.
Sloan Corners, the 261-acre mixed-use project at U.S. 75 and SH 121 developed by Billingsley Company, won the Best Mixed-Use Award at the Dallas Business Journal's Real Estate Best Deals Awards, as recognized at the May 12 council meeting. Plans call for more than 9 million square feet of Class A office, residential, retail and hospitality space.
The council approved a 10-year incentive agreement with Billingsley on January 28, providing a 50% rebate on sales and use taxes from construction material purchases. Phase one includes 500 apartments, 300,000 square feet of office space, three dog parks, a pond and nearly $1 million in public art. Mexican Bar Co. is slated to open a 9,000-square-foot restaurant at the site.
"The rebate of sales and use taxes on construction materials is a win-win for both the city of Allen and Billingsley Co., as it creates a new source of local tax revenue," Allen Economic Development Corporation Director Dan Bowman said at the January 28 meeting when the agreement was approved.
The Kalahari Resorts & Convention project, approved in February 2025 with performance-based incentives, has a targeted opening in 2030, according to a feasibility study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors. That study estimates $5 billion in direct and indirect spending over the project's first decade and $390 million in new tax revenue for the city.
Allen's visitor spending surpassed $209 million in 2025 for the first time, according to the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau.
What's next
The council's next regular meeting is expected for July 28, at 7 p.m. per its standing schedule of the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
