Van Alstyne Charm

Downtown Van Alstyne has been under construction and the transformation is an exciting one.

To manage disruptions, and the expenses, this project has been broken down into several phases and we have just completed the first phase.  The latest phase was for Preston Ave. South.  This project involved replacing existing water and wastewater lines, paving the street with concrete, installing new streetlights and landscaping, and implementing an underground chase system enabling the city to remove overhead power poles and pull utility lines under the street.  Seeing the beautiful new streets and lack of utility lines is a truly beautiful transformation that pairs far better with the newer Central Social District Park.

The next phase will be Marshall Dr. from Preston to Main Street.  This phase is working on the final details of the design now and the plan is to award the contract to a company this fall.

Early next year the project will continue and a contract to do Main Street between Marshall and Jefferson.

I am excited to bring new updates on our downtown transformation and if you have any questions about this project, email me any time!

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

You are probably in the full swing of summer at the moment, and we hope you are enjoying family time together and all of the incredible events in Van Alstyne.  But the 2025 school year is just around the corner!  Van Alstyne Independent School District goes back to school on August 19th and here are some resources that may be helpful as you prepare.

Starting with how to stay up to date on your schools announcements, you will want to check their website pages and their facebook pages will be a great resource to follow as well which includes supply lists, schedule pick ups, meet the teacher and more!

Bob and Lola Sanford Elementary School Website & Facebook Page 903-712-1900
John & Nelda Partin Elementary School Website & Facebook Page 903-482-8805
Van Alstyne Middle School Website & Facebook Page 903-482-8804
Van Alstyne Junior High website to come & Facebook Page 903-482-8803
Van Alstyne High School Website & Facebook Page 903-712-6500

This year there will be some changes to the school district as well. With the opening of the brand new Van Alstyne High School, 5th and 6th grade will now attend the Middle School and 7th and 8th grade will attend the old high school which.  Then 9th-12th will be at the new high school.

As far as scheduling goes, these will be the campus hours:
Elementary Schools: 8:00 AM to 3:05 PM
Middle School: 8:00 AM to 3:30pm
Junior High: 8:05 AM to 3:40 PM
High School: 8:10 AM to 3:50 PM

If you have not enrolled for the upcoming school year you can do so here.
New Students
Returning Students

Registration for the Bus Riders will be available here within the month.

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

Let’s start with the good news; there are currently no other planned lane closures for Highway 75 during the day, in or around Van Alstyne.  There were a few days the currently active Highway 75 project in Collin County that a lane was closed and we were all highly impacted.  But per that Collin County on site Engineer, those were the only planned lane closures for his project. This project has an expected timeline of 30 months for completion currently and began in April this year.

The purpose of the project is to add capacity, improve traffic operations by converting frontage roads from two-way to one-way operation, provide frontage road turn around opportunities, and ramp improvements along US 75. The proposed project is the 3.5 mile stretch north of E CR 370 and widens US 75 from two mainlanes to three mainlanes in each direction.

This project includes the replacement of the overpass at CR 371 with the addition of left turn lanes exiting the overpass and increased shoulder width.

Reconstruction or modification of existing ramps, where applicable, to support the lane widening and frontage road conversion. Frontage roads will be repaved and restriped for one way conversion.

The Grayson County project is set to go to bid in September this year and TXDot anticipates construction to begin early 2025 and at this time have a 2-3 year expected timeline.  They will know more and update us after assigning the project.

The purpose of this  project is to add capacity, improve traffic operations by converting frontage roads from two-way to one-way operation, provide frontage road turn around opportunities, and ramp improvements along US 75. The proposed project is 14 miles from Collin County Line to FM 1417 and widens US 75 from two main lanes to three main lanes in each direction.

Includes Replacement of the overpass at County Line Road / Panther Parkway

1 over pass at FM 121/Van Alstyne Pkwy – the existing bridge will not be replaced with the initial project.  TXDot is rebuilding the intersection with concrete pavement with this project.

1 new overpass about a mile north of Van Alstyne Pkwy by Simmons Loop

Reconstruction or modification of existing ramps, where applicable, to support the lane widening and frontage road conversion. Frontage roads will be repaved and restriped for one way conversion.

They have no plans to have lane closures during the day on the highway, and are able to keep the lane closures at night time. However, the access roads are likely to remain 1 lane during the length of the project.

We are staying in touch with TXDot during this project and will post on our Facebook page for any announcements directly from TXDot.

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

The City of Van Alstyne is proud to support the Van Alstyne Sports Authority (VASA), our local, youth sports organization dedicated to enriching our community. VASA serves boys and girls ages 3 to 14, offering a variety of sports programs designed to promote teamwork, build skills, and foster community spirit.

The current sports offered by VASA are: flag football, tackle football, sideline cheer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and now soccer! They just completed their first soccer season and we heard the feedback was wonderful! Their seasons are listed here on their SportsEngine site and you can sign up there as well.

VASA is open to registrations from neighboring communities, ensuring that all children have the chance to participate and benefit from the local programs. However, some leagues may require children to be enrolled in Van Alstyne schools for eligibility. This policy helps ensure our local athletes can compete and develop in a supportive environment.

Most VASA games take place within a 30-minute radius of Van Alstyne, though locations may vary by sport and league. As our community and parks and recreation department grows, they are striving to host more leagues locally as the facility options are added.

For the latest news and FAQs, we encourage residents to visit the VASA website and follow their social media pages. These platforms provide up-to-date information on programs, events, and opportunities for community involvement.  We invite all community members to get involved, whether by volunteering, attending meetings, or supporting our young athletes at games. Together, we can continue to build a vibrant and supportive sports community in Van Alstyne.

For more information, please visit Van Alstyne Sports Authority About Us and VASA on SportsEngine.

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

The Outdoor Warning Systems are known by many as “tornado sirens” or just “sirens”. However, it is important to understand that the Outdoor Warning System(OWS) is designed for all hazards. As the name implies, the system is designed for people that are outdoors. Those that are indoors may not be able to hear the OWS for various reasons. The OWS should only be used as a supplemental warning tool for individuals. OWS can be used to alert citizens of tornadoes, hail, hazardous material incidents, civil emergencies, and any other impending hazard that could adversely affect the lives and property in the general vicinity.

When an Outdoor Warning System is activated, remain calm and go to safe shelter indoors. Then, tune into your NOAA All Hazards Radio or local television or radio for further instructions. Remain indoors until the emergency has ended.

To stay the most up to date, please visit Grayson County’s CodeRED page to register and receive emergency notifications.

Grayson County has instituted the CodeRED Emergency Notification System – an ultra high-speed telephone communication service for emergency notifications. This system allows us to telephone all or targeted areas of the County in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action (such as a boil-water notice, missing child or evacuation notices). The system is capable of dialing 60,000 phone numbers per hour. It then delivers a pre-recorded message describing the situations to a live person or an answering machine in the affected area possibly including instructions requiring action on the part of the recipient. Once the situation is remedied, another call will be placed to the area signaling that the issue has been addressed and that normal activities can be resumed.

CodeRED is a geographically based system where street addresses are needed to select the telephone numbers that will receive emergency notification calls. Public databases have been used to collect telephone numbers for existing Grayson County home and businesses and have been placed into the CodeRED database. However, sometimes the public databases contain outdated information. Thus no one should automatically assume his or her telephone number is included. All individuals and businesses should register, especially if you have an unlisted phone number, have changed your phone number or address within the last year, or you use a cellular phone as your home phone.

Visit Grayson County’s CodeRED page to register and receive emergency notifications.

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

Forrest Moore Park is our most south park in Van Alstyne located just off Hwy 5 near the Georgetown neighborhood.  This is one of the City of Van Alstyne’s most used parks and includes ballfields, basketball, tennis & pickleball courts, pavilions & picnic tables, playgrounds and walking trails.

With this long list of ammenities, this is a very highly trafficed park on a daily basis for Van Alstyne. Forrest Moore Park is also used by many sports organizations that bring out not only Van Alstyne residents, but surrounding communities as well.  For some people, this will be their first reason to visit Van Alstyne. With this high use, over time the parking lot and the sign for the park “needed attention and repairs to ensure quality of use for our residents,” said David Sileven, President of the Van Alstyne Community Development Corporation. He said “the condition of the park reflects upon our city and we wanted to ensure that we are sending a positive message of how our community cares for the assets that we manage and reflect a positive image of Van Alstyne.”

Van Alstyne Parks & Recreation, with the assistance of the CDC, repaved and restriped the parking lot which not only looks so much nicer, but provides a far better experience for all visitors when the parking lot is being heavily used on sports days.  The marquee sign in front of the park is also being rebuilt to better represent the park as well.

“The vote by the board was unanimous to direct the funds to assist our Parks Department and we are eager to see the results when the work is completed,” said David Sileven.

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088

Marshall Street is a picturesque street in our historic downtown that is lined with shops, restaurants, studios and more. On this soon to be renovated street, you’ll find Pique Boutique who was the first to jump on the opportunity by our CDC to offer their billboard to local businesses. Founded by Mandy and Donald Bacco in 2022, Pique Boutique is the result of Mandy’s passion for fashion and their shared desire to provide an exceptional boutique experience in Van Alstyne. You’ll find women’s and girl’s clothing and accessories including bags, shoes and jewelry, all of which are individually selected by Mandy. Mandy says, “we believe that fashion is a means of self-expresssion” and that the day is just better when you like what you’re wearing.

Pique Boutique also offers a loyalty program called Pique Perks that allows customers to earn 1 point for every dollar spent, and each 150 points is $10 off a future purchase. Follow Pique on your preferred social platform and stay up to date on the new items and events or visit their website at www.mypiqueboutique.com to shop their current items today.

Address: 245 E. Marshall St., Van Alstyne, TX 75495

Hours of Operation: Mon – Sat 10:00 – 6:00 Sunday 12:00 – 4:00

Facebook: Pique Boutique
IG: @mypiqueboutique
TikTok: @pique_boutique

Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne

cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088