August 7, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

The public will get a chance on Monday night to hear more details about the Cottonwood development on the north side of town.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will have a work session about an 86-acre lot where a developer hopes to build a wholesale membership retailer, restaurant, gas station, kennel, and extended stay hotel.

At the meeting, a planning department staff member will give an overview of the project, but it will not come to a vote. It is informational only.

The anchor would be a Costco, according to those who have met with store representatives and taken part in official conversations about the plans.

It’s not clear what hotel brand would be on the side of the extended stay hotel. The concept had not been publicly discussed for Cottonwood until the agenda packet was posted.

The site is on the east side of Long Prairie Road and north of Dixon Lane.

The developer is asking for a master plan amendment to change some of the zoning to retail on the north side, commercial and industrial in the middle, and retail on the south side of the lot. In the current version of the master plan, more than half of it is designated for office use and the rest is zoned for commercial and industrial use.

A rezoning application has been submitted for the land, which is currently zoned as agricultural and industrial.

Town staff “expressed concerns” about allowing a kennel and extended stay hotel in an R-2 (retail) district, according to the staff report.

“In addition, the concept plan does not identify the location of these proposed uses,” the staff report said.

When an extended stay hotel was proposed to be built in Lakeside Crossing in April, the town council received more than 150 emails about the project. Many residents expressed concern about the quality of the hotel, which was a Residence Inn by Marriott, and perceptions about the type of guests it would attract.

The town council tabled a decision on the Lakeside Crossing development and there is talk of a Chapter 380 agreement, an economic development tool that could help bring an upscale hotel to the spot.

The extended stay hotel in Cottonwood may be a sticking point for some residents, but the amount of tax revenue a Costco could bring in would help ease budget constraints in future years.

Mayor Pro Tem Adam Schiestel was told by Costco that Flower Mound residents spend $150 million at the Lewisville location each year. Unlike grocery stores like HEB, wholesale retailers sell many large items that are subject to sales tax.

Going forward, the Cottonwood project would need the go-ahead from the Environmental Conservation Commission before being considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission at a public hearing. It would then go before the town council.