Webb Royal Neighborhood Inspires a Loyal Fan Base

How much does Jeff Reburn love his Webb Royal neighborhood? Enough that when we reached out to tell him his neighborhood was next, he went door-to-door to ask neighbors why they loved it, too.

You might call him a super fan – especially since he’s also the lead for the neighborhood’s NextDoor site, and vice president of the Webb Royal Crime Watch, too. Webb Royal is bordered by Royal Lane, Walnut Hill Lane, Webb Chapel Road and Allegheny Drive.

“It’s directly across from Sparkman Club Estates, which is a sister neighborhood created by the same developer,” Reburn explained.

Webb Royal is actually made up of three smaller neighborhoods – Royal Chapel Estates, Walnut Hills, and Chapel Downs. The three neighborhoods act as one large neighborhood to share benefits like crime watch, Nextdoor, and Volunteer-In-Patrol.

Like most Love Field adjacent neighborhoods, Webb Royal was likely built for those who worked in the airline industry. The streets in the Chapel Downs portion of the neighborhood are named after winning Kentucky Derby horses.

Reburn said that more and more people priced out of places like Sparkman Club and Midway Hollow are beginning to look at Webb Royal, choosing to overlook the fact that the traditional dividing line for where people want to live has been Webb Chapel Road.

“I think it’s moving as Dallas grows but my real estate agent two years ago actually warned me/told me not to look on this side of Webb Chapel,” Reburn said. “I saw that it was an up and coming neighborhood and took a chance and it’s turned out great!”

“Our neighborhood is in full transition with recently renovated homes coming up for sale every month,” he continued. “My own house has had a price appreciation of 28.5 percent as of the last appraisal over a year go in the two years I’ve lived here.”

“We tried to move to Sparkman two years ago but were priced out and hopped across the street to Webb Royal,” Reburn said. “You can tell it’s in transition as you drive from East to West. More and more houses are being renovated.”

Reburn said that his own home – which was purchased for $280,000 in 2015 was appraised for $360,000 a year later.

But more importantly, Reburn and his neighbors love where they live.

“We’re the original owners of this house built in 1969,” said Reburn’s neighbors, Paul and Esther. “The personality has changed a lot since we’ve been here.”

“Everyone isn’t as close as we once were when everyone had kids because everyone knew everyone but I still know a lot of people on the block and they’re all friendly.”

The couple said they are also a fan of the diversity they influx of new neighbors has brought, too.

“I moved in five years after my home was built,” Colette Hamilton said. “The personality has changed a lot since I’ve been here.”

Hamilton said that in the neighborhood’s earliest days, there were more families with children and everyone knew everyone because of that.

“There were homemade margaritas for the parents or homemade ice-cream for everyone,” she said. “We used to have a bell to ring to let the kids know it was dinner time! Now it has the potential to be exactly the same as it once was as it’s a very healthy diversity.”

“We love our neighborhood because of the location and the relationships,” Reburn said. “We know each other and are great neighbors always willing to help or let someone borrow something.”

Hamilton agreed. “My favorite thing about the neighborhood is the people; everyone is so nice,” she said. “It’s a homey, comfortable feeling. I also love the homes with the big lots that allow for a big backyard.”

The mature – and varied – trees wooed Chase Dustin to Webb Royal. “My favorite thing about the neighborhood are the trees; the different species, the quality, the size, and the beauty,” he said.

“My neighborhood has a classic vibe – it’s the type of neighborhood where neighbors love to lend a helping hand or come together to get something done,” Reburn added. “It’s not one of those neighborhoods where you barely know your neighbors’ first name and only form of interaction is the awkward wave when meeting each other’s glance when pulling in and out of the driveway or getting the mail.”

Reburn said that chili cookoffs, crime watch meetings and neighborhood parties have helped develop that closeness.

“We host crime watch meetings every other month where we invite our neighborhood patrol officer to highlight recent crimes and ways to protect ourself, have a city code representative answer questions, and a special guest,” he said. “Our best special guest was our city councilwoman Jennifer Gates – we were very impressed with how well she knew our individual neighborhood.”

Reburn and his neighbors also said they enjoy the wide array of amenities their location provides, too.

“My favorite thing about my neighborhood is the location,” Reburn said. “It’s a prime location to Love Field Airport, great restaurants, and shopping. Even though it’s Northwest Dallas it feels very central as it’s an easy drive to downtown or up north to Plano.”

Neighbor Bill Adams seconded that. “My favorite thing about the neighborhood is that it’s convenient to airports, shopping, restaurants, and UT Southwestern Medical Hospital,” he said.

“This is one of the most accessible neighborhoods for transportation to highways and airports,” Chase Dustin said.

“Easy access to cultural venues, great food, sports, and shopping – it’s in the heart of it all,” Chey Dustin agreed.

We asked Reburn and his neighbors to give us their elevator pitch for Webb Royal and found that the loyalty by both longtime residents and newcomers was persuasive.

“Whenever my friends say they’re looking for a new home, I encourage them to look in our neighborhood because it’s one of the few spots you can still find a great deal in an up and coming neighborhood,” Reburn said. It’s one of the few neighborhoods in Northwest Dallas you can find a great home for between $200,000 and $400,000, depending on size and how updated it is.”

“We also have a pretty low crime rate since we have an active Volunteers in Patrol (VIP) group where residents volunteer to ‘patrol’ our neighborhood in one-hour increments to deter would-be criminals from sticking around in our neighborhood,” he added.

And families are welcome, too, Hamilton made sure to point out.

“There are lots of close by activities for kids,” she said.

“Our neighborhood is quiet, friendly, safe and stable,” Chey Dustin said.” I worried about moving here at first. It was so different.”

“But now we are kicking ourselves we didn’t do it sooner. Life is too short to waste time commuting to a cookie-cutter suburb!”

Adams said his family fell in love with Webb Royal first.

“There are nice homes on tree-lined streets with friendly neighbors,” Adams said. “We picked the neighborhood before we picked the house so that speaks volumes to the personality of the neighborhood.”

Each week, CandysDirt.com is spotlighting a neighborhood in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Think your neighborhood deserves attention? Email [email protected] for details on how your neighborhood could be next.