Ross Perot Jr. has watched North Texas grow north for most of his life.
He remembers seeing I-635 built as a boy and watching development spread across Dallas-Fort Worth with his father, Ross Perot Sr., helping shape that growth through projects such as the Electronic Data Systems campus in Plano.
Now, after decades of following the region’s growth patterns, Perot believes the next chapter will stretch north through Collin County and toward Lake Texoma.
“I tell the young team and I tell my children, that’s what you’re going to do, is fill in between, taking North Texas up to Texoma,” said Perot, chairman of Dallas-based Hillwood. “And look, that sounds a little aggressive, but it’s not.”
Patience pays off in Frisco
But first, Perot’s long-term vision is shaping Hillwood’s strategy closer to Dallas.
At Frisco Station, Hillwood and its partners have spent years waiting for the market to mature rather than rushing to build. Today, the firm is developing Bonham & Baker, a 410-unit apartment project expected to open next fall, while Toll Brothers is adding luxury housing to the 242-acre development east of Lebanon Road and Legacy Drive.
In addition, the development already features office space, four apartment communities and three hotels.
At full buildout, Frisco Station is expected to include millions of square feet of office space, nearly 100,000 square feet of retail, a health and wellness district and more than 2,000 residential units, according to its website.
“We’ve been around it 10 years now,” Perot said. “Like all Hillwood projects, we take our time and we do it right.”
Perot said the type of multifamily development Hillwood can justify today would not have been financially feasible when the company began working in the area a decade ago.
“Normally with time, you can get a higher-quality product,” he said. “You couldn’t afford 10 years ago to build what we’re building now because the market’s matured.”