A new residential project is in the works and it's coming with what has become the new must-have: a lagoon. Called Bellagio Lagoon, it's a development that Megatel Homes LLC plans to build in Forney. The project is budgeted at more than $800 million and will feature a manmade lagoon with white sand beaches.

A release describes it as one of the largest residential projects in Forney to date.

This is the same Forney that was just ranked second on "The Best Suburbs to Move to in 2021" by Homes.com, based on home price, education quality, and crime rates. Forney is one of the fastest-growing North Texas new home markets, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Megatel co-founder Aaron Ipour says in a statement that lagoons have been a game-changer for their firm. "We have received tremendous feedback from potential homebuyers, which has greatly exceeded our expectations," Ipour says.

Lagoons up the amenity game with features such as a beach and waterfront sports such as kayaking and sand action.

Features at Bellagio Lagoon will include:

• swim-up bar
• Flowrider surfing simulator machine
• dog park
• playground
• splash park

An amenity center will include a restaurant and bar, adult lounge, teen center, and children's indoor play area, plus a bowling area, arcade, and home design center.

Homes will range in size from 1,800 square feet to 4,200 square feet, priced from $349,000 to $600,000.

The first phase of homes at the community, which features approximately 400 homes, is expected to be completed by April 2022. The lagoon is expected to be completed by August 2022.

Ipour says that more than 60 percent of the community has already been sold and they expect it to be completely sold out by January 2022.

Dallas-Fort Worth has become obsessed with water features, from Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark, the recreational facility in Grand Prairie, to the Lakehouse Waterfront Lounge at the Omni Las Colinas to the big pool expansion at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma.

Bellagio Lagoon is Megatel Homes' third lagoon community already in motion, including the Venetian Lagoon they're developing in McKinney and another in West Dallas. They have five more scheduled for presale this year, and 15 more lagoon communities in the works throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The company was founded in 2006 and has completed more than 100 developments.