Last Site Appealing as In-Fill Becomes Elusive in North Dallas

ALLEN, TX—The last remaining development site with freeway access in Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm has hit the market. The approximately 7.69-acre property is located at the southwest intersection of Montgomery Boulevard and US 75, at the southern end of Watters Creek.

The property is zoned mixed use and being offered for sale by a partnership between PCCP and Trademark Property Company. Chris Harden, Ryan Duffie and Kyle Vinson of Cushman & Wakefield are working with Kevin McGlaun of M4 Realty Advisors to market the property. The acreage is being offered to qualified investors and developers on an unpriced basis.

“It’s being sold as contiguous acreage but the seller will consider subdividing based on use,” Harden tells GlobeSt.com.

This North Texas walkable development is in the rapidly densifying Richardson/Plano submarket. Watters Creek is a 53.4-acre open-air mixed-use destination that includes Market Street grocery, lifestyle retailers such as Anthropologie and Kendra Scott, dining options such as the Cheesecake Factory, Mi Cocina and PF Chang’s, class-A office space, outdoor event space, apartments and a forthcoming Aloft Hotel.

“The tract of land would be an attractive location for nearly any type of development, especially as in-fill opportunities in the northern Dallas suburbs have become increasingly difficult to come by,” Harden said. “The explosive employment growth in the northern Dallas suburbs has created unprecedented demand for developable land in strong submarkets like Allen. This phenomenon, coupled with a high-quality amenity-rich environment like Watters Creek, creates a unique opportunity to develop one of the remaining land tracts in this rapidly densifying quasi-urban node. We expect this tract to garner interest from most all property types, including office, hotel, medical and residential.”

Allen was recently named the 27th fastest-growing city in the United States. The city has also been ranked the number one best suburb for Millennials in Texas, the number two best place to live, the number six best school district in Texas and the third best real estate market in the nation. Meanwhile, the city’s employment has grown more than 14% in the last three years, with more than 1.5 million workers within a 30-minute drive of the site.

“Average household incomes in the immediate area are some of the highest in North Texas at over $120,000,” Harden tells GlobeSt.com. “The area is quickly densifying with over 1,000 units of multifamily within walking distance to the property that have either recently completed or are currently under construction.  Several hundred single-family homes are priced between $500,000 and $900,000, also within walking distance to the property. Medical use is seen as very synergistic with retail and would be considered. The development of this property is intended to support the existing retail at Watters Creek and help finish out the southern end of the project, which is slated for additional retail.”

As a result, Watters Creek and the immediate surrounding area have experienced explosive residential and class-A office growth, including developments such as the recently announced One Bethany West and single-family residential communities from builders Darling Homes and Ashton Woods.

The location of the property along US 75 provides tremendous visibility and prominent signage opportunities with more than 200,000 vehicles traveling the highway every day. The acreage also offers immediate access to Six Cities Trail, a heavily wooded running and biking trail that defines the property’s west border.