{"id":2774,"date":"2025-04-01T12:15:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/?p=2774"},"modified":"2025-04-01T12:15:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:15:41","slug":"gov-abbott-calls-for-construction-to-stop-at-epic-city-but-developer-claims-it-hasnt-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2025\/04\/01\/gov-abbott-calls-for-construction-to-stop-at-epic-city-but-developer-claims-it-hasnt-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Abbott calls for construction to stop at EPIC City, but developer claims it hasn’t started"},"content":{"rendered":"

Controversy Surrounds EPIC City Development in Texas<\/h1>\n

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened the East Plano Islamic Center and affiliated entities with \u201cthe full weight of the law\u201d if they begin or refuse to stop construction on the planned EPIC City development \u2014 even though developers have submitted no project plans and the dirt remains unmoved.<\/p>\n

Abbott said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the mosque and Community Capital Partners LP have filed no applications or documents with the state agency. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is tasked with the regulatory oversight of environmental impacts from residential and commercial developments.<\/p>\n

Construction may not begin until proper authorizations and permits have been granted, Abbott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey must confirm within seven days that they are immediately ceasing any construction of their illegal project or face the full weight of the law. The State of Texas will enforce its laws and protect our communities from unlawful actions or threats posed by EPIC or its affiliates,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n

Breaking News<\/p>\n

Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

EPIC City Development Plans<\/h2>\n

Community Capital Partners, formed by some members of the East Plano Islamic Center, hopes to build more than 1,000 homes, a K-12 faith-based school, a mosque, elderly and assisted living, apartments, clinics, retail shops, a community college and sports fields on 402 acres in Collin and Hunt counties.<\/p>\n

Related: EPIC City: A timeline of Muslim-centric neighborhood plans, leaders\u2019 responses<\/p>\n

The agency said EPIC and Community Capital Partners must confirm within seven days that the groups \u201chave not and will not engage in any construction or pre-construction activities in violation of state law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs EPIC appears to have acknowledged, EPIC City is required to obtain multiple authorizations and permits from TCEQ prior to any development or construction,\u201d the agency wrote in a letter sent to the president of CCP and the president of EPIC\u2019s board. <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite these extensive permitting obligations, TCEQ has not received any applications or documents supporting the creation of this large-scale, standalone \u2018city\u2019 in the location identified by EPIC and CCP,\u201d the TCEQ wrote. \u201cThis letter, therefore, serves as notice that any construction or development in furtherance of EPIC City without requisite TCEQ approval is in violation of state law and should be halted immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Project Status and Investigations<\/h3>\n

Representatives for the East Plano Islamic Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Abbott\u2019s office did not share additional information.<\/p>\n

Representatives for the EPIC City project said Tuesday that the project is still in the planning phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo permit applications or paperwork have been filed and no construction has started,\u201d said Erin Ragsdale, a spokesperson for the development. \u201cAs we said back in February, CCP extends an open invitation to Gov. Abbott. We would appreciate the opportunity to give him an overview of the project, show him the site and answer his questions. We believe an open dialogue could save taxpayer resources, and foster a relationship of transparency and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Kalhoefer, a senior planner with engineering firm Westwood, told Collin County commissioners at a public hearing on Monday that a development application for EPIC City hasn\u2019t been submitted.<\/p>\n

A traffic impact analysis, flood study and environmental study have been completed. The group said it is \u201clooking at options\u201d to prepare an application for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. <\/p>\n

The firm has no timeline for when the project will be presented to the state agency.<\/p>\n

Kalhoefer told The News that the firm is revising the project\u2019s masterplan based on the results of the flood study. They hope to present plans to county officials later this year.<\/p>\n

Investigations<\/h3>\n

Abbott has directed a series of state agencies to investigate EPIC and its affiliated entities. Abbott announced Monday he has directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the mosque and related businesses for \u201cpotential criminal activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least four other investigations into EPIC are being led by Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas State Board of Securities and the Texas Funeral Service Commission. Abbott previously said in an X post that a \u201cdozen\u201d state agencies were investigating.<\/p>\n

Paxton announced the first investigation last Tuesday. The state\u2019s top prosecutor requested documents from Community Capital Partners related to its EPIC City development. The request is part of Paxton\u2019s investigation into whether the group is violating state consumer protection laws.<\/p>\n

Abbott announced Wednesday that the Texas Funeral Service Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter, alleging the mosque was operating a funeral home without a license.<\/p>\n

The Texas State Securities Board launched its investigation Thursday into potential failures to \u201ccomply with applicable state and federal securities requirements, including protections against fraud.\u201d In a news release, Abbott said the mosque and affiliated companies may be misleading investors.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Texas Workforce Commission announced it was investigating EPIC and Community Capital Partners to determine if the parties violated any fair housing laws.<\/p>\n

Community Capital Partners told The News in February that the organization would adhere to the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits the denial of housing to a person based on their religion and other protected classes.<\/p>\n

The organization stated it \u201cwill not enforce blanket bans on any group of people, but we will conduct thorough individualized assessments of prospective buyers to ensure they align with our goals of safety and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCCP intends to follow all applicable rules, regulations and laws and intends to develop an inclusive community that all citizens can be proud of,\u201d the firm said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n

Muslim-centric EPIC City draws Collin County meeting ire<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Plans haven\u2019t been submitted, but most residents at Monday\u2019s public hearing opposed the project.<\/p>\n

\"FILE
\nRocket acquires Coppell-based mortgage company Mr. Cooper in deal valued at $9.4B<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

The deal is expected to close in the last quarter of the year.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h4>\n

The controversy surrounding the EPIC City development in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Controversy Surrounds EPIC City Development in Texas Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened the East Plano Islamic Center and affiliated entities with \u201cthe full weight of the law\u201d if they begin or refuse to stop construction on the planned EPIC City development \u2014 even though developers have submitted no project plans and the dirt remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-real-estate"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/NS2XHWXGMJD75HRRR5IRPTIWUA.JPG?auth=4b3f9ba50f4e683d1e87e8339832283a01a7411dd18ac7e07f4d144cebc97d17&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2776,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions\/2776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}