Jerry P. Owens, whose family started the 75-year-old sausage company with its products now in practically every grocery store, started disposing of the farms after selling the business to Bob Evans Farms Inc., its northeastern US counterpart based in Columbus, OH. Hillwood Residential acquired the Collin County farm, which has prime frontage along Texas 121, a freeway connection that can get commuters to CBD hubs in Dallas or Fort Worth.
Hillwood will invest $21 million into infrastructure to develop 1,300 lots for resale to residential developers while holding onto 69 acres for commercial and retail projects, Fred Balda, Hillwood Residential's president tells GlobeSt.com. The freeway frontage is perfect for regional retail development. With that said, development could begin sooner than the usual three years that it takes to get the rooftop count needed to attract retail developers and tenants, he says. The infrastructure work will begin in a few months, with the first lots delivering in summer 2004.
The Owens farm is situated in Melissa, 50 miles north of downtown Dallas. It's one of two that Owens brought to market, says Balda, who confides that the one in Forney is under contract.
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