Another New Development Adds to Celina’s Reputation as a Boom Town

Talk about a boomtown. Once again, Celina is the setting for more development.

Developers announced plans to start construction this summer on The Parks at Wilson Creek, a $1.5 billion, 720-acre development between Coit and Custer roads.

Dallas-based Cambridge Companies, which already has sites for thousands of homes under development throughout Celina, is behind the project.

“Celina is one of the hottest submarkets in D-FW,” Matt Alexander, Cambridge vice president, said in a statement. “We now have 7,300 lots to develop in this booming city.”

The Parks at Wilson Creek will include homes that range from the mid-$300,000 to $700,000-plus. In the first phase, David Weekley Homes, Highland Homes, Perry Homes, and Tradition Homes will build on sites for 358 homes. Model homes will be available in early 2023.

North of Frisco, the Collin County city already is overwhelmed by colorful signs from builders and developers that are erecting a sea of rooftops. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen announcements for the Villages of Uptown, a new community with 2,500 single-family homes; North Sky Celina, a 783-home community; and Chalk Hill, a 440-home community. In November, Addison-based Tomlin Investments unveiled plans for Green Meadows, a $2 billion, 1,400-acre master-planned community of 4,000-plus homes west of Celina.

Cambridge Companies has been a part of the growth, having sold more than 1,000 homes in Celina, including the vast Mustang Lakes project.

That’s just the recent activity we know about. The city and surrounding areas beyond city limits are a hotbed of construction activity. Last year, Celina had 1,862 residential building permits, 49 percent more than the 1,252 permits issued in 2019.

It’s not just residential development. The city is expanding its network of parks and schools, including a new Collin College campus.

The Parks at Wilson Creek is on the path of Collin County’s planned Outer Loop roadway, an east-west route that will provide residents with close access to Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway.

The U.S. Census projects Celina’s population to be 23,427. In 2018, the Census estimated the population at 12,735. That’s quite a spurt, considering the city had a population of 6,028 in 2010, according to the Census.

What’s more, the city is projecting its buildout population to be approximately 350,000, bigger than Frisco and Plano.

So, yeah, Celina is definitely a boomtown.