What’s Developing: Build-to-Rent Community to Take Root in Collin County City

The build-to-rent craze has hit another Collin County city.

Anna will have 125 rental homes available in 2024 when Wheaton, Ill.-based Watermark Companies completes the new Canvas at Anna development. Watermark announced on its website that it has acquired the site.

According to wmcompanies.com, the community will be centered around a central park and clubhouse. The homes will feature detached single-family homes, duplexes, and semi-attached townhomes.

Each home also will have in-home amenities such as smart-home technology, private yards, maintenance-free living, and more, according to wmcompanies.com.

Community amenities include a fitness center, game room, private pool, dog park, and more.
Matt Bischoff, Watermark’s investment director for Dallas-Fort Worth, told the Dallas Business Journal that the 17-acre site will cost roughly $50 million.

Rents in the community are expected to range from about $2,500 to $3,400 a month. The homes range from two- to four-bedrooms and are about 900 to 2,000 square feet.

“We really like Anna in particular,” Bischoff told the DBJ. “It has a great small-town feel that we know our residents will love, and then obviously Collin County is very attractive with all the growth there. It’s a highly desirable location.”

Watermark Companies already has communities under construction in Denton, Grand Prairie, McKinney, Midlothian, and Willow Park.

Homes in Denton are available this spring. Willow Park homes will become available in the fall. The rest are expected to be available in 2023.

Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the nation’s top markets for new rental single-family home communities. In 2021, D-FW builders started 3,885 rental houses, which represents 7 percent of total single-family home construction, according to Residential Strategies.