After 3 Years of Preliminary Work, Luxury Multifamily Project Breaks Ground Near Alliance

The first phase of a 55-acre luxury multifamily project in northwest Fort Worth finally broke ground this month after three years of navigating the approval process of turning undeveloped land into housing.

HPI Real Estate Services and Investments plans on building more than 800 apartments, cottages, and townhomes at the southeast corner of Blue Mound Road and Bonds Ranch Road, less than a couple of miles from Alliance Town Center. Phase one comprises 396 apartment units, with leases expected in early 2027.

Tim Shaughnessy, HPI partner and president of multifamily, told CandysDirt.com they never put the project on hold. The three years since they purchased the property in 2022 were spent getting all their ducks in a row with the city.

“We had to go get the property rezoned to allow for multifamily-use, so that took some time with our neighbors and the city to get everybody on board and supportive of this project,” he said, noting that previous attempts at development were unsuccessful. “We came in with a more creative approach that recognized the single-family homes to the east of us and also provided for a great project for everybody.”

Rezoning can be tricky with nearby stakeholders, especially when it comes to multifamily. But that was hardly the end of it in terms of the needed approvals for the project.

“We have over $3 million of public improvements that we have to put into this, both utilities and roadway improvements, and unfortunately, that process with the city … is very lengthy, especially when you couple that with needing to replat the property,” he said, also noting surface use agreements that had to be worked through with oil and gas companies.

Shaughnessy described a relatively slow piece-meal approach to roadway construction that has played out in the area, with each developer handling the improvements on small stretches of road adjacent to their sites.

“It creates a challenging, unfortunate condition for the neighborhood that lasts a lot longer than it would if the city were to instead build out a connected roadway infrastructure, but nonetheless, that was the process … in this pocket of Fort Worth,” he said.

HPI’s investment totals $16 million. A group of private investors is responsible for the rest of the money behind the project. Three years of pre-development aside, the project’s timing may work out well. JLL data reviewed by HPI suggests construction starts have slowed in recent years, setting up a drop in deliverables this year and next as demand remains high.

“We think it’s frankly a great time to be building a new project where we hope to be delivering into a market with less competition, more favorable interest rates and costs — that’s where we think we’re headed,” said Shaughnessy.

A lot could change between now and when residents start moving in, but Shaughnessy said rents are projected at between $1,400 and $2,400 per month, depending on the apartment. Phase one will have one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Subsequent phases will include 240 more apartments and 193 build-to-rent townhomes and detached cottages. Pricing for those will be in a different range.