What’s Developing: Before Chip Factories News Broke, Anna Planned This $59 Million Project

These days, Joey Grisham is a busy guy.

As director of the economic development for Anna, Grisham is seeing a whirlwind of activity from residential and commercial developers wanting to get a stake in the northern Collin County city.

This week, news came down of a $59 million apartment community, which starts construction in December.

Irving-based JPI plans to build Villages of Waters Creek, a 399,518-square-foot project that will feature multifamily buildings, single-family, and duplex homes on the east side of U.S. 75 in Anna.

The Villages of Waters Creek will be built southwest of White Street (FM 455) and Oak Hollow Lane in the Waters Creek Residential Campus. The project will have 325 traditional multifamily flats and rental cottages. Of the units, 51 percent will be rent- and income-restricted at 80 percent of the average median income. 🏗️ Here are the JPI facade renderings.

The project’s amenities include a resort-style infinity pool, furnished clubhouse, dog parks, community courtyards, onsite walking trails, and private yards for select units.

The project is being designed by Dallas-based Omniplan, according to an architectural filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Development in the northern corridor of Collin County, from Fairview to the Grayson County southern border along U.S. 75 and State 289, has been brisk. Anna, Celina, McKinney, Melissa, Gunter, Princeton, and other cities within spitting distance of Sherman-Denison are seeing significant development.

Much of the boom has come post-COVID where remote working has changed the workforce dynamic and, of course, the news that the Sherman-Denison area is building semiconductor factories.

The Villages of Waters Creek was in the planning stages and developed before the chip factories became a factor, Grisham said. Still, it came at a good time for those who are in the business of promoting Anna.

“On any given day, we’re getting lots of calls from developers,” Grisham said. “We’ve got multiple projects going. At any given moment, we have 20 or 30 projects working.”