Your Expert Guide

Colleyville: A peaceful area that's close to all things fun

There are so many great places to live in North Texas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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To some, living close to a major airport and not being in the flight path feels like winning the lottery. But for Colleyville residents, that's just another perk of living in their neighborhood.

"Colleyville is just a beautiful and extraordinary place to live and call home," says Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty agent Nancy Dennis. "It's suburban, yet it's close to fine dining, exemplary schools, and only 10 minutes to DFW International Airport."

This neighborhood is centrally located between Dallas and Fort Worth, meaning you're also close to both cities' entertainment offerings, cultural amenities, and sporting events.

Dennis has been a resident of Colleyville for the past 26 years, and has spent the past two decades introducing people to the area's charms through real estate.

"The people of Colleyville are exceptionally nice," she says, "predominantly well-educated and professional business owners. It is one of the safest areas in the country to live."

Dennis offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in Colleyville. Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
"Next Bistro has a very fine bar and local owners who use fresh, organic supplies for the restaurant," Dennis says. "The cuisine and selection are both extraordinarily good."

Dennis also mentions Stone House Restaurant for its wonderful outdoor dining and backyard-style lounge area, Ruggeri's Italiano Pescatore for its fine wine selection, Rio Mambo for classic Tex-Mex and terrific margaritas, The Londoner Pub for its hefty selection of beer and wine, and Gloria's Latin Cuisine for its patio dining and excellent bar.

"The Black Walnut Cafe is a favorite of many Colleyville residents," she adds.

Where to play
Texas Motor Speedway is less than 20 minutes away, and there are art museums, symphonies, operas, and cultural centers all around Colleyville.

Dennis also points out the area's numerous parks, which come with jogging and biking trails, as well as the Colleyville Nature Center with even more walking trails.

"There are eight spas in which to relax and rejuvenate, and numerous salons for hair, nail, and body treatments," she says. "Private and public golf courses are nearby, and there are professional facilities for baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and practically every type of sport."

Where to live
"Homes in Colleyville average between $900,000 to $1,400,000," Dennis says. "Styles vary from traditional to contemporary, French to Mediterranean. Colleyville is only six miles square, so the amount of land available to build on has become almost nonexistent."

Breaking it down by the numbers, Colleyville has two guarded and gated communities and 12 gated communities. There are only three communities with townhomes: Spring Garden, Oak Pointe Villas & Townhomes, and The Village at Colleyville.

Dennis points out that there are some lots available in a new development called Oak Alley, starting at $700,000 for a half-acre lot. "Homes there are being custom built and are priced at over $3,000,000," Dennis says.

There is a particularly memorable sale that Dennis recalls, that of 5308 Miramar Ln. It was owned by dear friends of Dennis' who passed away suddenly.

"It took months of estate work and details involving family and business, but I devoted all my time to this one sale because I was personally overwrought," she says. "It was one of significance to me because of the closeness and love I felt for the couple who owned it. Everything that I touched brought back fond memories of wonderful parties and good times with my very close friends."

But don't worry — there is a happy ending! Dennis says that "another lovely couple bought it, and they wanted to buy everything in the house, too."

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Nancy Dennis lives, works, and plays in Colleyville. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email ndennis@briggsfreeman.com, or call 817-992-7889.

One of Nancy Dennis' listings.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

One of Nancy Dennis' listings.

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Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: The underestimated historic and culturally rich 'hood

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Kay Wood

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Bishop Arts is a huge attraction, but Realtor Kay Wood wants people to know that Oak Cliff is a lot more than just Bishop Arts.

"Oak Cliff has a really rich and complex history," the Briggs Freeman agent says. "I think it's one of the most underestimated neighborhoods in Dallas."

Wood has lived in Oak Cliff with her high school sweetheart-husband since 2008, but she's been helping people buy and sell homes there for the past 15 years, currently with her business partner Brian Davis.

"The neighborhoods here are close to everything but still relatively affordable compared to other areas of DFW," she says. "I love all the historic homes with their architectural interest and variety, the strong sense of community engagement, and how there's so much to explore. Whether you're looking for the best new restaurant, the most authentic taco, film festivals, the zoo, the best public high school in Texas, parks, nature preserves — I could go on all day!"

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in "the Cliff." Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
The list is long: Nova ("you have to get the hummus," Wood says), Encina (pro tip: don't skip the blue cornbread), Cibo Divino for pizza and wine on the patio, coffee from Peaberry ("my husband swears their Vietnamese coffee is the best in town"), oysters at Boulevardier, the Perfect Picnic at Eno's Pizza Tavern, tio's elotes next to El Si Hay, the pistachio ice cream at Joy Macarons, and the spicy lobster ramen at Ten Ramen.

Wood advises picking up a great bottle of wine from Neighborhood Cellars and some steaks from Cooper's Meat Market. And, of course, there are tons of taco options in the neighborhood: "We can't get enough of Maskaras, Trompo, and Taco y Vino," she says.

Where to play
Marvel at the best skyline views in town while playing a round at Stevens Park Golf Course, take a walk through Twelve Hills Nature Preserve, bike along the Trinity River, or play disc golf at Founders Park.

The Kessler Theater is "such a great and intimate venue" for concerts, while the Texas Theater adds a touch of history to movie-watching. Escape to The Wild Detectives for books, music, and poetry, or head to the Dallas Zoo for a wild day out — "our whole family loves to feed the giraffes," Wood says.

What to see
Oak Cliff is home to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial at Kiest Park and the La Reunion Monument at Stevens Park Golf Course that honors some of Dallas' earliest settlers.

On Jefferson Boulevard, you can pop into the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for regular art shows, and "my daughters love to walk down the street and look at all the quinceañera dresses in the shop windows," she says.

Where to live
A few years ago, Wood helped her buyers purchase 626 Rainbow Dr., a rare, two-acre midcentury modern estate that's wrapped on three sides by a babbling creek.

"When you're there, it's really hard to believe you're less than four miles from downtown Dallas," she says. The buyers hired local architect Eddie Maestri to update some aspects of the house while carefully preserving its midcentury style. There was an original barn that had been previously converted to a studio, but the buyers reinvented it as a guest house and added a pool and outdoor kitchen.

"It's hard to say what a 'typical' Oak Cliff house would be, because we have some of the very best examples of almost every architectural style in town," Wood says.

"In Winnetka Heights, you'll find Craftsman architecture (four squares, bungalows, Sears catalog, etc). Kessler Park has Tudors and Colonials and Texas eclectics from notable local architects like Charles Dilbeck and David R Williams. Stevens Park has all of these, as well as Spanish Revival and Dutch colonials. Wynnewood, North Kiestwood, and Wynnewood Hills have some of the best midcentury moderns in Dallas, as well as wonderful ranches. East Kessler has cutting-edge contemporaries that take advantage of the rare-to-DFW hilly terrain. You could teach a pretty comprehensive architectural history of Dallas without ever leaving Oak Cliff."

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Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.