Dallas-based Hillwood has acquired 1,267 acres in Waxahachie, Texas, south of Dallas, for a new residential, retail and commercial project, with construction to start in the next few years. Hillwood purchased the land for the Saddlebrook Estates development from Centurion American for an undisclosed amount. Located approximately 25 miles south of the Dallas Central Business District, the community is east of Interstate 35E and along the north side of Highway 287. The property is zoned for single-family, multi-family, duplex, retail and commercial uses.
Plans for Saddlebrook Estates include 2,900 single-family lots ranging from 6,600 square feet to 12,500 square feet. Approximately 36 acres along the Highway 287 frontage are set aside for commercial/retail development. Another 18 acres are available for multifamily use.“Statistically, over the last four or five years, Waxahachie is one of the growing emerging markets,” Brian Carlock, vice president for Hillwood Residential, told CPN today. “It’s not doing the gross numbers today that Plano or Frisco are, but we’ve seen it as an obvious submarket for South Dallas.”“Three major corridors–I-45, I-35E and 67–are growing out of South Dallas and it is an obvious route for growth on 45, plus there are not a great deal of large tracts consolidated at a reasonable enough price to do a master planned concept, which is what we do best,” Carlock (pictured) added.New homes will be priced from $150,000 to $300,000. The population of Waxahachie is expected to increase by 15 percent by 2011. Waxahachie is the county seat and the largest city in Ellis County, which is the second fastest growing large county with more than 100,000 residents in North Texas, behind only Collin County. “I think there is a market south of Dallas/Fort Worth and there is not a lot of development in terms of multifaceted planned developed there,” Dr. Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas, told CPN. “It probably makes a lot of sense. Our population is supposed to double in the next 30 years and we’ll see more growth to the south and Waxahachie is a pretty good location with major highways.”Since 1988 Hillwood has developed more than 18,000 single-family lots in more than 30 cities throughout North Texas. Communities currently under development include the Creeks of Preston Hollow in Dallas, Heritage in Fort Worth, Heartland in Kaufman County, Chisholm Ridge in Fort Worth, Liberty in Melissa, Saratoga in Fort Worth, Creekwood in Saginaw, Twin Creeks in Allen, Harmony in Red Oak, Gateway Estates in Glenn Heights and Falcon’s Lair in Mesquite. In Jackson Hole, Wyo., Hillwood also is developing Bar BC Ranch.