DENTON, Texas — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
A developer plans a nearly 2,000 home master-planned community with a resort-style water park and lazy river, apartments and commercial buildings outside Denton.
Alluvium Development Inc., based in Midlothian, is planning a nearly 600-acre development called Tabor Ranch featuring 1,921 home lots of varying sizes, 3.5 acres of commercial and 12.6 acres of multifamily development. Alluvium is also planning an amenity center featuring a gym and cafe available to residents.
The community is located 10 miles east of Denton, near the cities of Krum and Ponder. An elementary school and fire department may also come to the area.
Jonathan Jobe, president of Alluvium Development, said the $100 million first phase of development will include 850 home lots. The first homes are expected to be completed in 2026. So far, Ashton Woods Homes, Castle Rock Communities, First Texas Homes, Lilian Custom Homes and Meritage Home are signed on as homebuilders.
"You're seeing more and more folks move out a little farther from the cities," Jobe said. "They want to have amenities, they want to have things to do, and they don't want to have to travel far on the weekends with their families to go places. So we really wanted to entice them and bring an exciting, resort-style amenity here for folks to enjoy with their family."
Jobe said as the population of Texas grows, developers have to look farther out for land. He said this tract was appealing because it's in the Ponder Independent School District and is close to downtown Denton.
According to preliminary bond offering documents, Alluvium Development bought the land Oct. 20 for $17.16 million from Tabor Ranch LLC and Beall Legacy Partners LP across three transactions.
The Tabor Ranch MUD and Alluvium entered into the Tabor Ranch Public Improvement District financing agreement on Oct. 29. Denton County is considering issuing $52.3 million between two bonds for infrastructure improvements to the area, according to the document.
Alluvium is made up of the father-son duo Terrance Jobe and Jonathan Jobe. Other projects in their portfolio include Westside Preserve, which features 972 homes, 97 townhomes and 1.4 million square feet of commercial space in Midlothian; and Paloma Trails in Decatur, with 1,800 homes and 958,320 square feet of commercial.
The area around Krum and Ponder is becoming a hot spot for residential development as land becomes limited for development in Denton, according to Ted Wilson, principal at Residential Strategies Inc. Developers are attracted to the school district and the fact that it's easier to fund infrastructure such as water and sewer via public improvement and municipal utility districts, Wilson said.
"The main thing is that you can help subsidize the extension of those utilities through districts, and that's pretty fundamental," he said.
Nearby, Shelton Development Ltd. is creating a master-planned community called The Meadows along U.S. Route 380, featuring 1,600 lots to be built on by Arlington-based D.R. Horton, M/I Homes, First Texas Homes and Tri Pointe. Commercial and multifamily are also in the plans, said Brad Shelton, owner of Shelton Development. He estimated about 23,000 homes are being planned in the corridor.
"Now how long it'll take to get everything on the ground, I don't know," Shelton said. "Some are getting in the entitlement stages. A lot of them are trying to navigate utilities that are required."
