In 2006, Randy Nantz lay in an emergency room in Baghdad with his legs badly burned and a large portion of his rear end blown off by an explosive.
The Green Beret communications sergeant had just survived a blast from a roadside bomb. Deployed with the 5th Special Forces Group, Nantz’s unit had been on its way to check out a “bad neighborhood” in Baghdad when the explosive struck his Humvee and left his leg engulfed in flames.
“It went through the fuel tank,” he said. “The fuel ignited and sprayed across my leg. It was like going from not on fire to lighting a matchstick.”
His injuries were severe, and after a grueling rehabilitation process, Nantz now has a prosthetic lower left leg. Ten years later, the retired soldier and his family have been selected by the nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes to receive a mortgage-free, 2,600-square-foot home in the Harvest development west of Argyle.
To read the full article, click here.
Our story starts with a walk down memory lane. Actually, it's Sylvan Avenue.
In 2012, I was a brand new employee when I went to a convenience store on Sylvan to do my first story for News 8. It was about ticket sales for a huge Powerball prize.
Since then, it’s like developers here have hit the lottery.
New development has gone up all around that store. A new market, new places to live, and new places to eat. Everywhere you look, new stuff. And driving it all is the same thing that brought me here in 2012 — new jobs.
…
New homes here have been popping up just as fast to accommodate all those workers.
“They are finding us”, said Elaine Ford of Hillwood Communities, as she gave us a tour of Hillwood’s Union Park development in Little Elm.
To read the full story, please click here.
Hillwood Communities master-planned neighborhood Creekwood, located in North Tarrant County, announces the grand opening of M/I Homes.
M/I Homes recently opened a new model home offering the latest design trends and finishes. In addition to the model, M/I has several homes that will soon be ready for move in. The conveniently located community offers value with homes starting at $249,990 and amenities including a private swim club with a large pool and a tot pool, playground, two and one-half miles of hike-and-bike trails connected to a city park and more than 50 acres of open green space.
To read the full story, please click here.
A new home community in east Denton County will bring 4,500 homes to the town of Celina.
Tomlin Investments is building the 1,408-acre Green Meadows project on Legacy Drive one mile west of the planned Dallas North Tollway extension.
The first phase of the project will include sites for 365 homes and a community center.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler said Tuesday that it arranged construction funding for the development with Bank of the Ozarks.
“We are excited about putting the funding in place to develop the infrastructure for the entire project and bring the first phase of lots to market for a select group of builders,” Dan Tomlin of Tomlin Investments said in a statement.
Green Meadows is being built 10 miles north of Frisco’s State Highway 121 corridor on the west side of Celina.
“We are about 90 days away from starting,” he said. “We are building about a $4.5 million amenity center.
To read the full article, click here.
On Saturday, the mayor of Fort Worth will attend the dedication of a park along a creek within Alliance Town Center.
Bluestem Park will feature 50 species of native plants and 500 native trees and shrubs. The park will also include trails with educational signs.
“We rounded up all of the experts we could, agronomists, ecologists, geologists,” says Hillwood Development Executive Vice President Russell Laughlin.
Laughlin says Hillwood also worked with the Corps of Engineers and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to try to restore the area to the way it might have looked before the Metroplex became so heavily populated. The 14-acre site aims to recreate the blackland prairie.
To read the full story, please click here.
Union Park, U.S. Highway 380’s first major residential development in Little Elm, will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday. Live music, food trucks, kite flying, bubble soccer and tethered hot air balloon rides will accompany the ceremony.
To read the full story, please click here.
OUTSTANDING SINGLE-FAMILY DEVELOPER- HILLWOOD COMMUNITIES
Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood is well known for its commercial development prowess, having built about 50 million square feet of industrial and office space. But its residential arm, Hillwood Communities, is a force, too.
To read the full story, please click here
Dallas-based master-planned community developer Hillwood Communities, a Ross Perot Jr.-owned company, has closed on 244 additional acres in Celina from the Wells family to expand its $500 million, 1,250-home community.
The deal is the second part of a land deal brokered by Hillwood Communities. Last year, the Dallas-based firm acquired 400 acres of Wells family land.
“It was our good fortune to partner with the Wells family last year,” said Perot, in a written statement.
“Given the rapid economic growth in North Dallas, we are honored to develop another residential community on this historical land to present those moving to the city with a choice to live in a first-class community,” he added.
All in, the expanded development totaling 644 acres is expected to cost $800 million at the build-out of 2,150 homes.
Hillwood Communities senior vice president Brian Carlock said the master-planned community developer is actively seeking to partner with other landowners and cities in Dallas-Fort Worth and other major Texas metro markets to develop residential and mixed-use communities.
To read the full article, click here.
Master Planned Development will deliver high-quality housing
with second large purchase from the Wells family
DALLAS – Hillwood Communities, a Perot company, today announced it has acquired an additional 244 acres in the growing North Dallas market in Celina, Texas from the Wells family, who has owned this property since before the Civil War.
“Celina is an emerging market that offers both affordability and excellent schools. With the land’s location near Preston and the Dallas North Tollway, it is clearly in the path of northward growth. Residents will have excellent access to the burgeoning employment centers to the south,” said Ted Wilson, owner, Residential Strategies, Inc. “Hillwood develops exceptional neighborhoods that offer design and amenity features sought by most new homebuyers. We feel that this location, in conjunction with a strong builder line up will produce extraordinary results.”
Hillwood plans to break ground on the development in Sept. 2016, with the first phase of homes being completed in late 2017. The new project will include approximately 900 single-family homes, resort-style amenities, multiple community parks, an onsite elementary school, miles of trails and space for new retail venues. The home price range is estimated to be from $275,000 to $400,000 with the development’s expected contributions to the city’s tax base to exceed $300 million at build out.
Wells family members said they selected Hillwood because of its reputation of developing first-class properties and its long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with the sellers and community stakeholders. Also, they cited the Perot family’s deep history and contributions in North Texas, as well as its reputation for first-class developments.
“On a tour of a Hillwood community in another county, one of their project managers said, ‘we listen to the land, and it tells us how to develop.’ That is the sign of a good developer,” said Marianne Wells.
Rick DeMasters, superintendent, Celina ISD said: “Celina ISD is very excited about Hillwood's development of a master planned community on the Wells family property. Developments such as Hillwood's will continue to bring more quality families into our community and will create a need for more schools. Hillwood and Celina ISD have partnered to meet the need for future schools by creating a future site for a new elementary school as part of the master planned community.”
Brian Carlock, senior vice president, Hillwood Communities said: “We are pleased to partner with the Wells family once again to expand our presence in the booming economy of North Dallas. We look forward to creating another first-class Hillwood community in Celina. We are actively looking at even more opportunities to partner with landowners and cities in DFW and around the major Texas markets to develop quality residential and mixed use communities.”
Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Hillwood and The Perot companies said: “It was our good fortune to partner with the Wells family last year. Given the rapid economic growth in North Dallas, we are honored to develop another residential community on this historical land to present those moving to the city with a choice to live in a first-class community.”
David Davidson Sr. served as the broker for this and the previous transaction.
About Hillwood
Hillwood, a Perot company, is a premier commercial and residential real estate developer, investor and advisor of properties throughout North America and Europe. With a diverse portfolio of properties and home to many of the world’s leading companies, Hillwood is committed to bringing long-term value to our customers, partners and the communities we serve.
Hillwood is best known for its Alliance brand, featuring the 18,000-acre AllianceTexas, 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia and 4,474-acre AllianceFlorida. Its founding project, AllianceTexas, has been hailed as one of the best mixed-use developments in the world, generating more than 40,000 jobs and $55 billion in local economic impact to date. Outside of AllianceTexas, Hillwood Investment Properties is focused on institutional-grade industrial/logistics properties and has developed and acquired more than 84 million square feet in North America and Europe.
Through its Communities division, Hillwood has delivered more than 24,000 single-family lots in 80 master planned communities. From single-family homes to high-end luxury vacation residences, Hillwood’s residential communities embrace the company’s LiveSmart principles, creating a sense of community while integrating technology, healthy living, environmental stewardship and education.
Hillwood also served as the lead developer of marquee projects nationwide, from the Air Force Memorial in Washington, to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the American Airlines sports arena in Dallas. For information, please visit www.hillwood.com.
Hillwood Communities, a Perot company based in Dallas that's developed scores of communities across the U.S., recently opened its first one in the Houston area.
Pomona, a 1,000-acre site along Mustang Bayou south of Pearland, has sold about two dozen houses so far. The community just west of Texas 288 near County Road 101 in Manvel will be guided by Russell Bynum, the company's new general manager for the Houston region.
Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities, spoke with the Chronicle by phone recently. Edited excerpts follow.
Q: What's your history in Houston?
A: We've owned land in Houston. Back in the mid-2000s, we owned 3,000 acres in Sienna South. We sold that parcel to Toll Brothers two years ago. Since 1988, we've developed close to 80 communities across the nation. We have about 30 communities currently underway. The majority of them would be in Texas. We're Texas-based and Texas is our focus right now.
Q: Why didn't you build in Sienna?
A: We were prepared to break ground. This builder had such a huge appetite, they wanted the whole thing for themselves. We said, “That's fine.” We're buyers, sellers and developers. Toll Brothers is a big customer of ours. We've developed a lot of lots for them across the country.
Q: How did you find Pomona?
A: Pomona is a partnership with Hillwood and MHI. MHI – McGuyer Homes Inc. – is a builder. They have Coventry, Plantation and Pioneer Homes under their umbrella. They actually owned the land before we did. They contacted us to come in and recapitalize this project back in 2012.
Q: Are you looking to develop other communities in Houston?
A: In Texas, across the board. That was the main reason to hire Russell Bynum, a local veteran we're really confident in. His twofold goal is to make Pomona the best it can be, and let's take the Hillwood flag and the Hillwood brand and let's do some business in Houston, Texas.
Q: How big will Pomona be?
A: 2,200 homes total. The are 300 lots on the ground in the first phase. We expect this will be completed within the next eight to 10 years.
Q: What size do you look for when you're acquiring land?
A: Pomona is an average size for us. However, we will look at smaller real estate projects that are in the 200-acre range. It varies where you are in the cycle. You don't want to go too long on land when you're going down in a cycle.
Q: What parts of town do you like for development?
A: That's a tough question. We look for great school districts, great access to the business centers, great services. Pomona is very easy into downtown and the Medical Center. You've got a town that understands master-planned communities and the quality that we're trying to promote. We're a move-up, first-time and second-time move-up buyer market. We're generally that $200,000 to $500,000 product, and so we try to find spots where the market is void of that product or there's big demand for that sort of price point.
Q: What's the hot thing now in master-planned communities?
A: A big focus for most of our master-planned communities is the lifestyle component that we are now attentive to. You have a variety of amenities that we like to build: clubhouse, tennis courts, swimming pools. The last thing you want to see is they don't get used. You will have a lifestyle director that starts to organize a variety of activities when you start to move in. The other component, more of a focus for us, is the empty nester. That population continues to be a bigger and bigger population. Folks like myself would love to live in a master-planned community close to my kiddos as long as we have our own segment. The other focus is the other end of the spectrum, which is the millennials. They are now starting to buy.
Q: How are sales going in Pomona?
A: We just delivered our first phase in the fourth quarter. There's a lot of homes under construction now that are really getting ready for the spring market. I do expect a good spring. As the market starts to pull back somewhat, there's a stronger appeal for the master-planned communities. There seems to be this flight to quality when you have a downturn. There's a sense of security that comes with your home purchase.
Q: Are you concerned about the timing of the community being introduced with Houston's economy is slowing down?
A: I've got a little bit of concern. What gives me more confidence is where I'm located. I've got great access to that strong medical district in Houston and downtown. … We might see a little bit of a pullback with the energy sector being a little bit more challenged today. Again, you don't build a community for one segment of the market or one cycle of the market.
To view the article on the Houston Chronicle website, click here.
