Kennedale to Be Site of Throwback Pocket Neighborhood Concept

Kennedale expects to be the site for a novel housing concept that will start construction in early 2021.

Developer Urban Chic Properties will build a pocket neighborhood called “Moderno Live, Simply” with 50 modern farm homes and outdoor space where people do what people do on farms.

The pocket neighborhood concept started in the Pacific Northwest and has made its way to Texas in recent years with developments in Austin and Houston.

This development will consist of homes ranging from 800 to 1,100 square feet on a six-acre parcel of land in Kennedale in Tarrant County on 3775 Kennedale-New Hope Road near U.S. 287. The homes start at $190,000. Reservations are being accepted with 50 people already on a presale notification list, Urban Chic CEO Leslie Frazier says.

“We feel like we brought something unique to Kennedale,” Frazier says. “We’ve been looking for a place to build this for a while, but we hadn’t found the best lot. Then this parcel presented itself.

‘”We love Kennedale and its central location to Mansfield, Arlington, and Fort Worth.”

Urban Chic presented the concept to Kennedale city planners. The decision to move forward came quickly and the City Council unanimously approved the proposal during its Sept. 15 meeting. Frazier says the rapid approval accelerated her firm’s development plans.

Melissa Dailey, Kennedale’s economic development and planning director, says her background in urban-style development helped her recognize the concept’s value, especially for Boomers and Millenials.

“This is not exactly that, but it’s a combination of urban character with the walkability and connectivity to a rural setting,” she says. “When I first saw this, I saw that it could be good for Kennedale. We had this rural area of land available with a long skinny stretch of land that’s important for putting a linear park in the middle.”

Urban Chic also is constructing residential homes on Center Street and has finished townhomes on Pecan Street in Arlington. Urban Chic is also building craftsman homes on Pennsylvania Avenue in Kennedale and another single-family development at 708 Mansfield Cardinal in Kennedale that is scheduled to open in November.

The farm-house-style homes consist of a grouping of smaller residences around a courtyard or common garden with amenities that include a dog park and a fire pit. The homes will also have front porches and private patios. Inside, the homes will have wood-like tile throughout with custom shaker cabinets.

Frazier says a significant positive is the price. In Tarrant County, the median home price was $218,236 in 2019, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“New construction in this price point is challenging,” Frazier says. “It’s a niche that doesn’t have a lot of opportunities. With older homes, you worry about what to do with the pipes and the maintenance.”

Dailey says Kennedale welcomes diverse housing styles.

“This was something to satisfy a market that we didn’t have a product for,” she says.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Urban Chic Properties was the developer for 439 Mansfield Cardinal Road.