Developer Navigates Denton-Area ETJ Hurdles, Plus More Development News

Dallas-based Astra Development has finally cleared two years of ETJ hurdles to move forward on a new $150 million development in the Denton area. Now they’re ready to collaborate with Arlington-based D.R. Horton on the 561-home community called Stuart Ridge.

An ETJ or extra-territorial jurisdiction, as it refers to cities, is the legal capability of a municipality to exercise authority relating to infrastructures such as street width, thickness, and pavement, as well as sanitary sewer regulations. Developers deal with them regularly in exurb areas. But the issue, typically a bane to rapid development, is done and all is ready to go.

“The property’s location in the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the city of Denton created unique challenges in terms of obtaining necessary approvals,” Justin Bono, founder and president of Astra Development, said in a statement.

Construction can only begin when certain permits are obtained, of course. Astra Development worked with the city of Denton, gained approvals for the first phase, closed the deal on Dec. 10, and turned the project over to D.R. Horton for construction on the Stuart Ridge single-home family community.

Astra Development has owned the property since November 2019 and has been working on approvals with Denton city planners for more than two years.

The project is platted for lots north of Loop 288 at the northeast corner of Stuart Road and Long Road in Denton County. The first phase of the project, a final plat for 163 lots, is expected to start immediately, according to Astra Development.

Davey Davis represented Astra Development in the deal with D.R. Horton. Kimley-Horn & Associates serves as the land planner and civil engineer for the project.

Astra Development controls more than 1,800 acres for future residential development in Collin and Denton counties.

In Other Developments

• Flower Mound: Town officials and engineers are working with developers behind the Furst Ranch development to remake part of the town’s western edge into a mixed-use development with space for tens of thousands of residents, Community Impact Newspapers reported. The development would bring $3.3 billion in improvements to more than three square miles of farmland straddling Cross Timbers Road and U.S. 377. Learn more here.

• Plano: The City Council approved amendments to the Collin Creek urban mixed-use zoning changes allowing the building of 98 townhouses that will abut the Chisolm Trail. The council voted 8-0 to approve the changes in the project. The council’s vote makes way for the redevelopment of Block Q of Collin Creek.

• Lavon: The first phase of construction on the $2 billion Elevon development will start early this year, according to The Dallas Morning News. Dallas-based developer MA Partners LLC acquired the land to build 1,000 single-family homes in the first phase. The Elevon plan includes pocket parks, trail systems, amenity centers, and public-school sites on 1,500 acres.

• Plano: Construction on The Outlook at Windhaven, a senior living community, is expected to begin in late 2022. Dallas-based Forefront Living, a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, plans to build 150 independent-living apartment-style residents and about 30 cottage homes on land once owned by Plano’s pioneer Haggard family. The campus will include 32 assisted-living apartments and 28 memory support suites. The project will be near the intersection of Windhaven and Spring Creek parkways in West Plano.

• Fort Worth: Sales have begun on 100 single-family homes at Ascend at Watson Creek, 4825 Porque Ct., by builder K. Hovnanian Homes. The development is near the intersection of Alta Vista Road and Golden Triangle Boulevard.

• Richardson: Richardson-based Serene Global has begun the development of The Village at Abrams, a gated community expected to have 34 single-family homes with prices starting at $550,000. The homes would range in size from 2,700 to 3,600 square feet. The development is on the northwest corner of the intersection of Buckingham and Abrams roads, expected for completion approximately Summer 2021.