About Frisco

Frisco STYLE Magazine

About Frisco

    Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton County, Texas (USA). It is a northern suburb of Dallas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 33,714, while 2007 estimates place the population over 95,000. Frisco has been and continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. In the late 1990s, the North Dallas development tide hit the northern border of Plano and spilled into Frisco, sparking explosive growth into the 2000s.

History
    When the Dallas area was being settled by European immigrants, many of the settlers traveled by wagon trains along the old Shawnee Trail. This trail was also used for cattle drives north from Austin. This trail later became the Preston Trail, and later, Preston Road. With all of this activity, the community of Lebanon was founded along this trail and granted a U.S. post office in 1860. In 1902, a line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway was being built through the area, and periodic watering holes were needed along the rails for the steam engines.
    The current settlement of Lebanon was on the Preston Ridge and was thus too high in elevation, so the watering hole was placed about four miles to the west on lower ground. A community grew around this train stop. Residents of Lebanon actually moved their houses on logs to the new community. The new town was originally named Emerson, but that name was rejected by the U.S. Postal Service as being too similar to another town in Texas. In 1904, the residents chose Frisco City in honor of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway on which the town was founded, later shortened to its present name.

Geography
    According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 70.0 sq. miles. 69.9 sq. miles of it is land and 0.2 sq. miles of it is water.

Politics
    Frisco is a "Home Rule" city. Frisco voters adopted its initial "Home Rule" Charter in 1987. In May 2002, Frisco residents voted to revise the Charter and approved 19 propositions.
    The form of government adopted by Frisco is the Council-Manager, which consists of a Mayor and six City Council members elected "at-large" and a City Manager. Council members' duties include enacting local legislation (ordinances), adopting budgets, determining policies and appointing the City Manager and City Secretary.

Demographics
    As of the census of 2000, there were 33,714 people, 12,065 households, and 9,652 families residing in the city. There were 13,683 housing units at an average density of 195.8/sq. mile. The racial makeup of the city was 87.25% White, 3.76% African American, 0.38% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.34% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.02% of the population.
    There were 12,065 households out of which 46.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.13.
    The age distribution is 30.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 45.9% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.
    The median income for a household in the city was $79,149, and the median income for a family was $84,150. Males had a median income of $58,620 versus $37,440 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,089. About 2.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.
    The city population as of January 2007 exceeds 93,000 people.

Economy
    Like many Dallas suburbs, Frisco is accumulating a tremendous number of retail properties, including Stonebriar Centre, a 165 store regional mall, and an IKEA store with an area of 310,000 square ft. Retail establishments and restaurant chains line Preston Road which is one of the major north-south running traffic arteries in the city.
    Frisco took a different economic tack than many surrounding cities and elected to use a fractional percent of local sales tax to fund the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) rather than DART, the regional transportation body. The FEDC funds have been used to provide incentives to businesses to locate in Frisco, thus boosting the tax base of the city to more than just retail and residential sources. As a result, Frisco has also become the home for a trio of sports franchises including FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas League AA affiliate of the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers, and the Junior A hockey team the Texas Tornado. Frisco is also the home office and training facility for the National Hockey League Dallas Stars.
    The city is also Frisco Square, a mixed-use development that will become a significant part of a new downtown. The Square has over 3,500,000 sq. ft of retail, living, and municipal space including City Hall, library and public commons.