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Here’s what makes Frisco so alluring to California, West Coast transplants

WileyX and Quality Custom Distribution are two companies that recently fled to North Texas.

Texas has attracted many high-profile companies from California and other West Coast states in recent years, with Frisco and other North Texas cities competing for corporate flags.

Texas’ public education, lower tax rates and housing prices, better air quality and smaller homeless population are some of the reasons Californians might relocate to the state, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University determined in a joint report published in September.

Frisco leaders say they see no signs that the city’s popularity with West Coast companies will fade because it offers amenities that others — even nearby cities, such as McKinney and Plano — can’t.

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Recent relocations and expansions

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One West Coast transplant that recently chose Frisco is military-grade eyewear maker WileyX, which plans to move into its new facility at the beginning of 2022 after three decades in California’s Bay Area.

Quality Custom Distribution, a food supplier for restaurant chains that include Starbucks, Chipotle and Chick-fil-A, moved to Frisco in 2020 from Irvine, Calif.

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Additionally, Seattle-based real-estate brokerage Redfin expanded its existing Frisco offices by 38,000 square feet this year, bolstering its total space to about 65,000 square feet. More than 150 Redfin employees work at the Frisco location.

Business-friendly environment

Mayor Jeff Cheney and Frisco Economic Development Corporation President Jason Ford said Frisco’s remaining undeveloped land and pro-business climate are attractive to businesses, including West Coast companies.

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Because Frisco has room to grow, companies seeking to relocate or expand don’t have to squeeze their operations into available empty office space. Instead, they can be selective with the available choices or build a custom facility.

Both Cheney and Ford also said the city’s economic development tools and innovative responses to growth have increased traction, in addition to the city’s public-private partnerships. Those include the Ford Center at The Star — which the city, Frisco ISD and the Dallas Cowboys worked to develop — and the PGA headquarters.

“We’ve been able to attract not just headquarters moving to Frisco, but we’re starting to see companies move their entire operations: warehouses, distribution center, labs,” Ford said.

Quality of life

As more businesses transition to a family-first model, Cheney and Ford cited Frisco’s quality of life as a driving factor for the city’s business growth, singling out high-quality public schools as the foundation.

Frisco ISD has been recognized as one of the best districts in the state for several consecutive years, receiving accolades for students’ academic performance, athletic success and diversity and inclusion efforts.

“This attracts residents, and residents attract talent, and talent attracts a lot of corporate,” Ford said.

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They also noted the city’s connection to major sports as one of its most attractive features.

The city is home to the Frisco RoughRiders, a minor league baseball team, and FC Dallas, a major league soccer team. The Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Stars also chose Frisco for the site of their practice facilities and headquarters.

Frisco will soon welcome the PGA headquarters, which will bring two championship golf courses, a conference center and a resort-style hotel.

“We have a very vibrant lifestyle in Frisco,” Ford said. “We have a lot of amenities which cater to people from all ethnic backgrounds, age groups and careers — things for students and retirees.

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“I firmly believe that a lot of the growth we’ve had in Texas from the West Coast has enhanced all of that, and as a result, we’ve added amenities which also cater to some of that West Coast lifestyle.”

Traffic and travel

City engineers have been working for years to prepare Frisco’s infrastructure for growth and development, and chief innovation officer Jason Cooley said no other North Texas city is operating at the same level.

Cheney and Ford also touted the city’s infrastructure and low population density as appealing to West Coast residents, who benefit from improved traffic flow and the ease of traveling to other Texas cities.

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Frisco is also desirable because of its proximity to two major airports, they said, and its central location in between the coasts.