DENISON, Texas — Editor's note: This article was originally published in the Dallas Business Journal here.
A huge new community planned for Denison could supercharge its population growth and fundamentally transform its economic landscape.
Preston Harbor is slated to eventually have around 7,500 luxury homes. That could attract as many as 20,000 residents, Mayor Janet Gott said. The city's current population is just under 30,000.
The community has been in the works for years and is spearheaded by Craig International Inc. The effort got a fresh boost in January, when the real estate development firm announced it purchased more than 3,100 acres along Lake Texoma.
The deal closed Dec. 12 and was financed with a $67.5 million loan, according to Grayson County records.
That advanced a project with potential to reshape an area known as Texoma, which spans eight counties between Texas and Oklahoma but has a population of a little more than 300,000 — close to the population of Plano.
Preston Harbor is expected to add about $6 billion to the property tax rolls when completed, injecting tons of cash into the budgets of public schools, cities and counties.
“Preston Harbor will not only reshape Denison, but it will also reshape the entire region,” Gott said.
The community also represents a closer connection between the economies of Texoma and Dallas-Fort Worth. Not long ago, McKinney might have seemed the final frontier of the Metroplex for many, said David Craig, CEO of Craig International. But that's changed as more families and businesses head north from the main population centers, in search of more affordable homes and weekend fun.
Craig should know: his company developed the 2,200-acre Craig Ranch community in McKinney. Once considered remote, it now has more than 20,000 homes surrounding a town center with mixed-use buildings home to shops, offices and civic amenities. One of the golf courses at Craig Ranch hosts the AT&T Byron Nelson pro tournament, drawing in elite athletes and thousands of spectators each year. More than 140,000 people attended the event in May 2023.
“The reality is if you drive up Central Expressway now through McKinney — Melissa is booming, Anna is booming,” Craig said, referring to cities farther north in Collin County. “The activity is stronger than it’s ever been, and it’s going to continue to grow.”
Preston Harbor could become jobs hub in Texoma
In addition to boosting the population, Preston Harbor will diversify Denison’s economy, its mayor said. Currently, the main industries are retail, health care/social assistance and manufacturing. The largest employer and arguably biggest economic driver is Texoma Medical Center.
"This [project] is a level of economic impact that very few cities ever have the opportunity to experience," Gott said about Preston Harbor. "It will bring new quality housing options, more lake access, more access to recreation, more retail and job opportunities."
Craig said the resort-style development should create around 15,000 jobs. That would involve many employers, but would create the single largest jobs hub in the city.
"Everything about Preston Harbor is about quality of life," Gott said. "This will enable us to attract professionals, which we could not in the past because we didn’t have the housing available that they desired."
Construction is expected to commence on Preston Harbor before the year’s end, Craig said. The construction of major infrastructure, including the marina and resort hotel, will likely be part of the development’s first phase. An active adult community, similar to the Del Webb community in McKinney, is also in store for Preston Harbor, with a deal expected by the end of the second quarter, Craig said.
Economic future of Texoma in flux
Denison was founded in 1872. It's known as the birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and as an old railroad town. It's a community that values "our history and our heritage," Gott said, but that has also embraced progress, like a recent $47 million facelift of downtown.
But all of this growth can mean growing pains. How do Denison residents feel about the forthcoming change? Gott, a native Texan and longtime Denison resident, said most welcome the opportunity to bring more jobs and housing to town.
It will also draw more attention to Lake Texoma, a point of emphasis for city leaders. Preston Harbor will have 9.5 miles of frontage on the south side of the bucolic body of water.
At the same time plans are being firmed up for Preston Habor, Texoma is in the midst of another economic shift: Dallas-based Texas Instruments and Taiwanese-owned GlobiTech are building massive semiconductor manufacturing plants in Sherman, roughly 12 miles south of Denison.
Together, those plants are expected employ around 4,500 in high-paying jobs, which should further boost home buying and consumer spending.
“With all the industrial stuff, especially in the semiconductor industry, that is going on in that Denison area, it just bodes well for a lot of growth,” Craig said.
Toward the end of last year, the Texoma region was designated a semiconductor tech hub by the Biden administration. The program is intended to transform parts of the United States into "globally competitive innovation centers." It was the only region in Texas to received the designation.
Janie Bates, executive director of the Workforce Solutions Texoma employment agency in Denison, said the program is meant to prepare the region for future growth, especially as more tech companies come onto the scene and expand their operations in the area.
“The tech hub will ensure that we are preparing the region in terms of educating the workforce, and also that we are preparing for security because a lot of chips are used in national security,” she said.
Margaritaville could make Preston Harbor a tourism magnet
A big piece of the puzzle at Preston Harbor was the recently announced addition of a Margaritaville resort.
The $100 million project will be only the second of its kind in Texas — Lake Conroe, about 50 miles north of Houston, has the state's only other resort named after the well-known Jimmy Buffett song. That 186-acre resort opened in June 2020.
Many DFW residents are already familiar with Texoma as a vacation destination. Northwest of the Preston Harbor site, across the Red River, is the Choctaw Nation Casino & Resort in Durant. An hour west is the Chickasaw tribe's Winstar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville.
Gambling is not legal in Texas, although there has been plenty of recent speculation about that changing. Instead of a casino, Preston Harbor will be centered on 90,000-acre Lake Texoma, as well as featuring dozens of internal lakes, Craig said.
The resort will be developed by Dave Johnson, founder of Horizon Capital Partners and former chairman and CEO of Plano-based Aimbridge Hospitality. Craig credited Johnson and Jim Wiseman, Margaritaville’s senior vice president of development, as crucial to getting the deal done.
Wiseman said Dallas "has always been a good market for all of Margaritaville products," which span apparel, drink mixes and much more, and that North Texas "was always close to Jimmy Buffett's heart."
Additionally, Lake Texoma is an ideal setting for the resort's island theme, Wiseman said. He expects it to look similar to Margaritaville resorts in Florida that heavily feature water sports. Wiseman declined to go into specifics about the resort's size. Plans call for restaurants, live music and pickleball courts. Further details are expected in the coming months.
"What differentiates us is the Margaritaville lifestyle," he said. "We’ve got a true lifestyle that people love, and are going to bring back to Texas."
He expects the new resort to attract visitors from Oklahoma, Arkansas and even further north. Lake Conroe’s Margaritaville resort draws in guests from as far as 500 miles away.
Wiseman and Gott said the plan for the project wouldn’t have come together without the support of the community, city leaders and many developers.
The project culminates about 20 years of work between the City of Denison and the late George Schuler, who initially conceived the project and passed his vision onto David Craig. For the last six to eight years, the city worked to prepare for the development and completed a water treatment program on Lake Texoma.
"Our hard work finally paid off," Gott said. "It is an exciting time in our community."
