Partners Buy 3,100 Acres Near Dallas for $6B Planned Community

A partnership known as Waterfall Development has closed on a 3,114-acre land purchase for a $6B master-planned community that plans to build 7,500 new homes, effectively doubling the population of Denison, TX, which is about 75 miles north of Dallas.

The venture is led by McKinney, TX-based Craig International, with general partners including Horizon Capital Partners, also based in McKinney; Texas-based investor N9 Capital Partners and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

The project, known as Preston Harbor, will expand the west side of Denison and include 9.5 miles of shore frontage on Lake Texoma, a 90,000-acre man-made lake that was created on what used to be Preston, TX.

The sprawling development also will include 27 smaller lakes on the property, including four lakes greater than 25 acres. “Preston Harbor will transform Denison, opening the entire west side of the city to Lake Texoma,” Craig International CEO David Craig said, in a statement.

The partners acquired the land for nearly $67M from Preston Harbor and Preston Harbor Homeplace.

In addition to the new homes, which will include single-family, active adult and multifamily units, the mega-development will include a $100M Margaritaville resort as well as retail, restaurants and a marina.

Waterfall Development is finalizing land planning and engineering, with plans to break ground later this year, the report said.

Horizon Capital will be the primary developer of the Margaritaville resort, which will be the third Texas location for Margaritaville Hotel & Resorts, a chain founded by the late singer Jimmy Buffet.

“We wanted a hotel partner with a reputation for delivering fun and laid-back luxury, which reflects the overall feel of Preston Harbor,” Dave Johnson, founder of Horizon, said in a release.

The two other Margaritaville resorts in Texas are Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island and Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Crystal Beach.

Jimmy Buffet’s biggest hit centered on the popular tequila cocktail, which usually is poured into glasses with rims that have been dipped in salt. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., agave-based drinks like tequila and mescal recently surpassed vodka and whiskey as the best-selling liquors in the U.S.

Most of the world’s agave is grown in Mexico, which may be one of the reasons Mexico surpassed China this week as the largest trading partner of the United States.