DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our partners at the Dallas Business Journal.
The initial pieces of a massive mixed-use development planned next to the University of North Texas at Dallas appear to be falling into place.
The Dallas City Plan Commission on May 16 voted in favor of a subdivision request that outlined broad components of the University Hills project on Wheatland Road, west of Lancaster Road. That included plans for 571 residential lots, 33 common areas and commercial sections of roughly 17 acres and 21 acres for future development.
Hoque Global is the firm behind the 270-acre University Hills project. An executive from Hoque and a limited liability company tied to Centurion American Development, which owns the land, were the applicants.
It was not clear when construction could start. Representatives for the companies did not respond to a request for comment.
University Hills has been several years in the making. Dallas City Council in June 2022 approved $31.4 million in tax increment financing for the first phase of the development; previous plans for the phase have called for 250 multifamily units, more than 500 single-family homes and nearly 200,000 square feet of commercial space including retail and office. Once University Hills is completed, it could have 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, 1,500 multifamily residents, hundreds of single-family homes and more than 50 acres of green space in southern Dallas, near the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Blue Line.
In February, Hoque Global CEO Mike Hoque told Dallas Business Journal he wasn’t ready to share too many details about the project but said progress was being made. He said his company was working with the city to get sewer and water infrastructure in place.
Founded in 2007, Dallas-based Hoque Global is an investment firm with a portfolio of companies across sectors including logistics, technology and hospitality. It has pitched several ambitious real estate projects, including One Newpark, a possible mixed-use tower in downtown Dallas that has also been cleared to receive millions of dollars in city tax financing.
Farmers Branch-based Centurion American, meanwhile, is known for developing large master-planned communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
University Hills is not the only big projected planned near UNT Dallas. Onu Ventures Inc. is building a 12-acre mixed-use project that is expected to have 238 multifamily units, a 2.5-acre retail pad and a jogging trail. Phase one of the $50 million project will focus on the retail portion, with delivery anticipated for August.
Mikial Onu, founder and CEO of Onu Ventures, hopes to start delivering multifamily units next year. He also plans to develop an 11-acre mixed-use student housing project across the street from UNT Dallas.
