Hillwood Buys 500-Acre Owens Farm for Mixed-Use Plan

MELISSA, TX-The founder of Owens Family restaurants has sold a 500-acre farm in Collin County while another in Kaufman County is under contract. In both cases, the likely development is residential with commercial components for the North Texas land.

Jerry P. Owens, whose family started the 75-year-old sausage company with its products now in practically every grocery store, started disposing of the farms after selling the business to Bob Evans Farms Inc., its northeastern US counterpart based in Columbus, OH. Hillwood Residential acquired the Collin County farm, which has prime frontage along Texas 121, a freeway connection that can get commuters to CBD hubs in Dallas or Fort Worth.

Hillwood will invest $21 million into infrastructure to develop 1,300 lots for resale to residential developers while holding onto 69 acres for commercial and retail projects, Fred Balda, Hillwood Residential’s president tells GlobeSt.com. The freeway frontage is perfect for regional retail development. With that said, development could begin sooner than the usual three years that it takes to get the rooftop count needed to attract retail developers and tenants, he says. The infrastructure work will begin in a few months, with the first lots delivering in summer 2004.