A master developer in Texas is planning 3,600 single-family homes to be part of a $3 billion mixed-use project in one of the country's fastest-growing counties.
Main Square Development said it will build Terra Nova near FM 245 and Griffith Road in Terrell, Texas, about 30 miles east of Dallas. The homes at the project will be priced from the mid-$300,000s, the company said.
The Terrell City Council signed off last week on the 1,545-acre master-planned community next to Terrell High School. Terra Nova also will feature 1,200 multifamily units and a 48-acre mixed-use corridor called Terra Nova Village that will include up to 200,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and offices, according to Main Square.
The master developer said the project will be built in 15 phases over the next two decades. It expects to announce a lineup of homebuilders early next year, with construction of the first model homes due to begin in early 2027.
Terra Nova could generate more than $80 million in annual property tax revenue at full buildout, excluding sales and other tax revenue streams, according to Main Square. It said it assembled 11 properties for the development in six months.
The Dallas metropolitan area's median price for detached homes in October was $399,000, down 1.38% from a year earlier, according to Homes.com data.
"We want to be in that median range for the majority of our lots and provide opportunities for higher quality/price if the market demands it," Main Square President Hugo Morales told Homes.com in an email.
Terra Nova is part of a wave of new housing developments announced this year across Texas.
In recent months, home starts and sales have declined due to softening demand in Dallas, Austin and other markets. However, homebuilders are confident in the Lone Star State's long-term appeal and are positioning themselves now for a market rebound in the next few years, analysts say.
Terrell is in Kaufman County. It led Texas in population growth last year and was second nationally to Dawson County in Georgia, according to U.S. Census figures.
With just under 200,000 residents, Kaufman grew by more than 11,100 net new residents, or 6%, from 2023 to 2024, noted Bill Kitchens, senior director of market analytics for Homes.com, citing Census data.
The county has benefited from new industrial and logistics occupiers, including Goodyear and Amazon, in the past five years because of easy access to Interstate 20, according to Kitchens.
"We are seeing more households move to Kaufman County and its largest town, Terrell, due to affordability, rural lifestyle and easy access to the city," he said.