Wanted: Commercial Team for $400M-Plus Plan

Namon Hollis, president of the North Texas Economic Trust, tells GlobeSt.com that the owner, Lancaster Preserve LP, will need the skills of a commercial developer for six large tracts inside the gated walls of the proposed Preserve. "I know that the interest is there," he says, "and a commercial partner won't be turned away."

The commercial component calls for nearly 60 acres of retail and professional offices in five infill tracts and 53 acres of retail-warehouse space ticketed for the southeastern quadrant of the land mass. Hollis, whose firm is providing predevelopment services, says the Preserve's commercial goal is to be "an extremely pedestrian-friendly area" with fountains and a cafe-style setting with bistro seating throughout the common areas.

The development group, led by Steve Topletz, has owned the land about two years. The Preserve's goal is to raise the development bar in the City of Lancaster and surrounding communities, where rural fields have been seeded with single-family developments of mostly starter and median-price product. "This is not the case with this development," Hollis stresses. "We are focused on the refinement of the development. It's basically tailored to what the city's been asking for--to raise the bar."

At build-out the Preserve easily could surpass $400 million in value based on the current plan for what is being touted as the largest new residential development in Dallas/Fort Worth. The plan includes a 52-acre, age-restricted neighborhood, with a pool, putting green, Internet coffee bar as just part of the incentive package. The Preserve will be framed in Italian Renaissance styling, with frontage along Ten Mile and Bear creeks. City officials are weighing a public improvement district to build in maintenance and upkeep safeguards for the development, a deviation from a common practice to rely on homeowners' associations. The Preserve also borders Bear Creek Nature Park, a system of walking trails that will be connected to the gated community, which has 150 acres earmarked for parks and conservation space.

The development plan is in the hands of the local zoning board. If all passes muster and city council signs off, Hollis says infrastructure work could begin by year's end. The development group, though, wants to break ground within 18 months, according to Hollis. "The retail will not be far to follow," he adds.