Allen's original fire station, built in 1970, is about to become a restaurant and entertainment hub.
Phase 1A of the Downtown Catalyst Project, a $17 million redevelopment at the northeast corner of West McDermott Drive and South Anna Drive, is expected to break ground in fall 2026.
The 2-acre site will reuse the old fire station building and add new construction to create roughly 18,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, according to Community Impact.
North Texas-based hospitality group Blender Brands is leading the project. Jacob Cox, a partner at Blender Brands who also operates Assembly Icehouse and Tacoro Tacos & Tequila in East Plano, plans about six restaurant concepts for the site: a cocktail and tapas bar with a rooftop patio, an Italian restaurant, a Tex-Mex spot, a sports bar, a coffee and wine bar the developer calls a first for the area, and an ice cream and candy shop.
A public pocket park and a live-music stage will anchor the outdoor space.
"The citizens … are hungry for that unique thing. They don't want to have to go drive to McKinney for The Square [or to] Bishop Arts. They want their unique thing that feels like Allen," Allen Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Dan Bowman said.
The project sits inside Allen's Tax Increment Finance Zone No. 2, established in 2006 to spur downtown investment. According to the city's FY2025 TIF report, the zone held a fund balance of about $13.8 million at the end of September 2025, with captured property value growing from $81.3 million in 2006 to nearly $1.19 billion. The zone operates on a pay-as-you-go basis with no outstanding debt.
Funding for the catalyst project comes from TIF Zone No. 2 revenue, Rough Creek Capital Services, the Allen EDC and the Allen Community Development Corp. Rough Creek holds exclusive development rights for the area for three years, per city documents.
Mayor Chris Schulmeister, a resident of Allen for more than 40 years, said downtown revitalization has been a city priority since 2021, when a citizen-led steering committee spent about a year shaping the vision.
He said there was "always a calling from the people in the community" to do something with the downtown area.
The catalyst project isn't the only piece moving. Developer Bucky Gillett's Gillett Commercial is planning a 12,000-square-foot retail building on a lot north of the Allen Public Library, which Gillett called an "anchor" for the area.
Mississippi-based Blackburn Communities and Plano-based Wolverine Interests are developing a 352-unit multifamily community nearby, also targeting a fall 2026 groundbreaking with completion expected in early 2028.
Wolverine Interests President Jim Leslie said housing is critical to attracting retailers downtown, noting developers need "a decent number of heads on beds" before shops and restaurants will commit.
Allen Flower Shop co-owner Ginger Kerr Collier, an existing downtown business owner, said she hopes the development spurs growth further down Main Street.
The Allen Chamber of Commerce has already relocated its office downtown, a move CEO Kyle Jacobson said makes the organization "part of the solution."
Road work to support the area is also in the pipeline. Reconstruction on Anna, Bonham and Boyd drives is planned under the 2026–2030 Capital Improvement Plan, according to Allen communications manager Kristi Soto.
Earlier work on Anna, Daisy, Coats and Belmont drives wrapped up in fiscal year 2017–18.
No specific Phase 1B plan has been announced, though Rough Creek retains its three-year development rights. The road reconstruction work does not yet have a start date.
