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Denton Ranch to Become $5 Billion Development

DFW: A sprawling and historic Denton ranch is being poised for a multibillion-dollar master-planned development. The 3,100-acre Cole Ranch, located west of Interstate 35W in southwest Denton, will be built out over numerous phases. The plans call for the new community to have 4,365 homes, elementary, middle and high schools, amenity centers, parks, plus two lakes and more than 200 acres for commercial and business park development. Investment is expected to top $5 billion when completed. It will be led by Johnson Development Corp. of Houston, The Cole Ranch Company, and Denton Range LLC. The first 400 homes in the development are expected to be ready in two years. Miner Thomas “MT” Cole bought the land nearly 100 years ago and raised cattle, buffalo and crops, and it has stayed with the family. More than 1,200 acres in the new development will be preserved for green space, along with more than two dozen miles of trails.

DFW: It’s only proper that one of the next luxury high-rises would be coming to Uptown Dallas, home to millions of square feet of development. Lincoln Property and Proper Hospitality of Santa Monica are partnering for Dallas Proper Hotel & Residences, a 34-story high-rise on a four-acre parcel just off Cedar Springs at Fairmount. It will have 200 luxury rooms on the bottom floors. On the top floors, there will be about 80 homes that will range from one to four bedrooms, along with several one-story and two-story penthouses, plus a private rooftop pool, dining area and lounge.  And what’s a luxury high-rise without its proper club. The Proper Club will house a restaurant, pool, bar, work areas and a 6,000-square-foot gathering space. Work is slated to begin next year and be ready for hotel guests and homeowners in the next four years. 

U.S.: It continues to be a challenging market for new home builders. They are being rocked on one side with higher costs for land, labor and materials and socked on the other by having to lower home prices and mortgage rates, along with having to offer other incentives, just to attract buyers and close deals. In August, sales of new homes fell to their lowest level in four years, reports Redfin. The median sales price for those homes was $413,500. Among those builders impacted is D.R. Horton, the country’s largest homebuilder. The Arlington-based builder saw its closings in its final quarter drop 1% to 23,368 and down by 5% for the fiscal year to 84,863. Like many other builders, D.R. Horton says it will probably continue offering incentives in 2026.

U.S.: Homeowners across the country are expected to spend an average of about $120 this year on Halloween. Of course, there are some who will dig deep into their purses and wallets and spend even more. From candy and costumes to decorations and spooky greeting cards, the spending this year is expected to top over $13 billion. That’s a spike from last year’s $11.6 billion, says the National Retail Federation. And a big part of that spending goes to keeping up with neighbors by making the house inside and out look nice and festive or spooky and creepy. A good chunk of household spending for Halloween goes to the mounds of pumpkins, gourds, hay bales and mums decorating the yards and front walkways leading to the front door. Spending on pumpkins for Jack-o’-lanterns alone is expected to surpass $830 million.

U.S.: You’ve heard of those Tiny Houses, but what about the Tiny Tower that’s for sale in the Brewerytown neighborhood of Philadelphia? The six-story residence is only 12 feet wide, but manages to pack two bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, a kitchen and a living area. It also has a built-in washer/dryer combo unit. There’s storage in a basement, a balcony on the second floor, and a rooftop deck. In all, there’s about 1,250 square feet of living space accessed by a single staircase. There are also two uncovered parking spaces on the property, which measures less than 500 square feet. The 38-foot folded steel plate tower apparently meets all the building, occupancy and fire codes in Philadelphia. The price: $395,000. The upside: numerous flights climbed and documented daily on the fitness tracker. The downside: extreme downsizing.

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