McMillan James Equipment Company will expand its footprint in the Grapevine Station business park.

A conditional use permit for the property was approved during a joint Grapevine City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission meeting Dec. 16.

In a nutshell: The company offers custom heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and plumbing, according to its website. It has been headquartered in its current location in Grapevine since 2020, according to the presentation.

Due to the growth in employees—from 98 to 135—the business requested to convert some of the warehouse space to office space. The footprint would expand from 22,881 square feet to 30,897 square feet, according to vice president of operations Robert McMillan.

By the numbers: When the company had 98 employees, 65 of those worked in the building three days a week or more, while the technicians and salespeople were out in the field. After expansion, the percentage of workers in the office will drop to about 60%, but there will 80 employees in the office.

The Dallas-Fort Worth region now has a Collars & Co. location at Southlake Town Square, which opened in late November.

The details: The menswear brand offers reimagined men’s shirts with its patent-pending Dress Collar Polo for athletes, celebrities and executives seeking all-day comfort and style, according to a news release.

Some background: Justin Baer, who founded Collars & Co. in 2021, appeared on Shark Tank to promote polos with a firm, dress-style collar in 2022.

The Southlake location is the sixth retail location for Collars & Co. and the first in Texas. Other locations are in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and California.

• 120 State St., Southlake

The Colleyville Public Library now has a Makerspace, an area for crafting and hands-on projects, Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery said. 

The overview: Equipment includes 3D printing, a laminator, laser engraving, sewing machines, button makers, and a Cricut and heat press, according to the library's website. 

The new space cost $109,553 and the city used tax increment finance and Colleyville Economic Development Corporation funds to pay for the construction, equipment and furniture, Lothery said.

The Makerspace opened to the public on Dec. 3 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held with the Colleyville City Council.

• 📍 110 Main St., Colleyville

The Texas power grid is expected to hold up this winter, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Dec. 9. This is due in part to “tremendous supply growth on the ERCOT grid,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said, amid an influx of data centers coming to the state.

The overview: Since last winter, over 11,000 megawatts of generating capacity have been added to the ERCOT grid, Vegas said. That growth, which largely comes from battery storage and solar facilities, could be used to power about 2.8 million homes during periods of peak electric demand.

Zooming in: Under most weather conditions, there is a less than 2% chance of a grid emergency through February, ERCOT found.

However, Texas could be in trouble in the unlikely event that a repeat of Winter Storm Uri hits large parts of the state this winter, although ERCOT noted that the probability of such a severe storm happening again was "well under one percent." The February 2021 freeze devastated an unprepared power grid, resulting in nearly 250 deaths.