Even with COVID-19 flipping the world on its head and delaying many projects that were expected to start in 2020, development activity has started to come back in North Texas.
Plenty of new projects were also announced this year, along with new timelines for previously announced developments. While nearly all cities and neighborhoods in Dallas-Fort Worth see at least a few new developments, we believe that four areas, in particular, are set to see some of the most drastic changes next year. As 2020 comes to a close, the Business Journal has compiled a list of those four areas and the projects that will change them:
McKinney
The northern suburbs of Dallas continue to grow and attract talent and new companies, with McKinney being one of the most active. From a residential perspective, McKinney saw 1,305 building permits issued between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 for single-family homes, coming in as the third most active single-family market in North Texas. Between McKinney and neighboring Allen, 3,304 new apartment units are currently under construction, according to RealPage.
McKinney is also a growing office market, with plenty of new development expected here in 2021. A partnership between Dallas-based Kaizen Development Partners and the McKinney Economic Development Corp. plans to break ground early next year on a 200,000-square-foot speculative office building within District 121, a mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Texas Highway 121 and Alma Drive.
More office projects are coming to the 2,200-acre Craig Ranch development. Craig International CEO David Craig says 600,000 square feet of new office space should be under construction in the area by next year. This will include a new 90,000-square-foot headquarters for Plano-based RPM xConstruction LLC and a 16-acre headquarters for an unnamed financial services company. VanTrust Real Estate has also proposed a 115,000-square-foot spec office project at Craig Ranch but has yet to announce a groundbreaking date.
With more corporate relocations expected next year, McKinney could be a prime candidate to land some new companies. Besides the headquarters mentioned above, the McKinney EDC has aggressively recruited other companies to set up shop there, especially from out of state. Earlier this year, manufacturer KVP International confirmed its headquarters move from Chino, California, to McKinney. In 2019, manufacturer Dynacraft moved its headquarters from Washington.
Frisco
Having made our list last year of the four areas of Dallas-Fort Worth poised for big changes, Frisco looks to continue its positive momentum into 2021. From a residential perspective, Frisco currently leads all North Texas cities with 2,011 building permits issued for single-family homes. Some 3,734 apartment units are also under construction.
The highly-anticipated PGA Frisco campus will also be coming along throughout 2021. Though both of the development’s championship golf courses will be completed in 2021, they won’t be playable until spring 2022.
Uptown Dallas/Victory Park
Like Frisco, Uptown Dallas also made this list last year, and more is expected here in 2021. Thanks to CBRE moving its headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas, Uptown is now home to another publicly-traded company. More could be on the way, with plenty of new space to accommodate them.
New projects set to deliver in Uptown and Victory Park in 2021 include Hillwood Urban’s Victory Commons One, The Link at Uptown by Kaizen Development Partners and The Brewery by Provident Realty Advisors. The Victor, a 39-story apartment high-rise in Victory Park, is also set to deliver next year.
More notable projects could break ground in 2021. They include Harwood No. 14, which will be anchored by Dallas’s largest law firm Haynes and Boone LLP; a 30-story, 450,000-square-foot office tower by KDC and Miyama USA Texas; KDC’s McKinney & Lemmon mixed-use project; and the world’s tallest interactive fountain coming to Klyde Warren Park.
Mesquite
Industrial real estate has dominated 2020, and not just in Texas. Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trends that had been driving industrial demand across the country. As a result, millions of new square feet have been planned throughout North Texas. A few North Texas areas will see significant changes due to this increase in industrial space, like Fort Worth, southern Dallas and the area around the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. However, for this list, we’ve selected Mesquite, which is on track to see more than 5 million square feet of new space over the next few years.
A few projects are already under construction, such as the five-building, 980,000-square-foot Urban District 30; the two-building, 644,000-square-foot Sunnyvale Business Park nearby Sunnyvale; and the two-building, 198,000-square-foot Skyline Commerce Center.
More space could break ground by 2021, including the 280-acre Trinity Pointe Mesquite. Being developed by Dallas-based Wynne/Jackson Inc., the multi-building park could accommodate up to 3 million square feet of new industrial space.