New neighbors

3 new developments add 456 'starter' homes to booming Dallas suburb

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

Photo courtesy of Meritage

A building boom of new homes is beginning in one fast-growing Collin County city: Meritage Homes is building a total of 456 homes across three new communities in Melissa.

The developments will accommodate the continuing influx of new residents into Collin County, whose population shot up by 36 percent from 2010 to 2020. Melissa, about 40 miles north of Dallas, has shared in that growth. Its population in 2020 stood at 13,901, up a whopping 196 percent from 2010.

The three new Meritage communities in the Melissa area are Wolf Creek Farms, The Quarry at Stoneridge, and Bryant Farms. All are in the fast-growing Melissa ISD.

The homes are touted as affordable "starter homes," "ideal" for first-time buyers, with prices starting in the $440,000s (though pricing for one of the three has not yet been announced). According to Redfin, the median selling price in Melissa is $580,000.

Here are key details about the three communities:

Wolf Creek Farms. 248 homes ranging from 1,833 square feet to 3,331 square feet. Prices start in the $440,000s. Amenities will include a 10-acre lake, covered pavilion, trails, playground, greenbelt, and dog park.
The Quarry at Stoneridge. 133 homes ranging from 1,833 square feet to 3,100 square feet. Prices start in the $460,000s. Amenities will include a pond, greenbelt, gazebo, “tot lot,” and paved hike-and-bike trails.
Bryant Farms. 75 homes ranging from 1,475 to 2,255 square feet. Pricing information is not available yet. Amenities will include open spaces, hike-and-bike trails, and a playground.

“With demand for new homes increasing among first-time buyers who want to escape escalating rents, Meritage Homes offers an entry-level line of homes that provide upgraded features today’s homeowners want — granite countertops, kitchen islands, home automation features as well as upgraded cabinets, laundry rooms, and appliances,” the homebuilder says in the release.

Each home will be built with energy- and money-saving features, they say, including spray-foam insulation, Energy Star-certified appliances, Low-E windows, and an efficient multispeed HVAC system, as well as smart door locks, door sensors and motion detectors, USB outlets, and advanced thermostats.

Presales for Wolf Creek Farms and The Quarry at Stoneridge will start in June. Bryant Farms is expected to open for sales in early 2023.

“We’re excited to offer buyers in Melissa industry-leading, energy-efficient, quick move-in homes with amenities that will make you never want to leave,” says Austin Woffinden, division president for Meritage Homes in Dallas-Fort Worth in a statement. “Wolf Creek Farms, The Quarry at Stoneridge, and Bryant Farms are ideal for homebuyers who are looking for affordability and quality in Melissa.”

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

Photo courtesy of Meritage

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

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Million-dollar homes

Multi-million-dollar gated home community The Preserve rises in Frisco

Preserve

A palace on the prairie of The Preserve in Frisco

Construction has begun on a multi-million-dollar custom home community in Frisco. Called The Preserve, it's situated among PGA Frisco’s championship golf courses and near the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, with multiple phases that will roll out over the next few years.

The Preserve is part of Fields, a 2,500-acre development in North Frisco off the Dallas North Tollway. Fields is co-developed and owned in partnership with The Karahan Companies, Hunt Realty Investments alongside investors Chief Partners and Cross Tie Capital.

The development will feature retail, dining, entertainment, hotels, corporate offices, native Texas plants, flowers, trees, and 250 acres of park space. It's designed by the same team responsible for Plano’s Legacy West, led by Fehmi Karahan.

Phase 1 of The Preserve will feature 233 homes crafted by 10 North Texas luxury homebuilders: Alford Homes, Coats Homes, and Starside Builders have all begun home construction. The other seven are The Preserve Bella Custom Homes, Endurance Homes, Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes, Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Shaddock Custom Builders & Developers, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes, and Ventura Custom Homes, for whom construction will start soon.

The Preserve Frisco The Preserve in Frisco, soon to be covered with homes.The Preserve

Lot sizes range from 6,800 square feet to more than an acre. Home design options will incorporate high ceilings, open floor plans, glass walls, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor such as patios, infinity pools, and landscaped exteriors.

The surrounding area will have more than 2,000 new trees plus views delivered via design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor living areas.

Many of the homes will address sustainability, health, and wellness with green architecture, energy efficiency, water conservation, and recycled building materials.

It will combine the privacy of a gated community with resort-style living, featuring amenities such as the PGA golf courses, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, and the exclusive Brookside Club with an expansive swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts and a playground.

Prices will start at $3,500,000.

Hunt Realty SVP Todd Watson calls it one of the most anticipated mixed-use projects in the area -- æa perfect location for discerning buyers seeking their forever home or a secondary residence" — although he's involved with the project so he's probably biased.

“As part of the Fields development, with prominent neighbors like PGA of America and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, we know The Preserve will be one of the most sought-after addresses in North Texas," Watson says.

According to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco’s population has increased by 500 percent in two decades and was recently recognized as the fastest growing city in Texas and third across the U.S.

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