May 26 2005
Hillwood Residential has begun development of Heartland -- a highly amenitized 2,500-acre master-planned, advanced technology community, located in Kaufman County at I-20 and FM 741.
Hillwood Residential, a Perot Company, and Mabrey & Partners LLC of Dallas have partnered to launch a truly one-of-a-kind community that promotes nature, education and a family-first, amenity-rich lifestyle. Hillwood Residential, a leader in the Metroplex for delivering high- quality innovative communities, will manage the development and marketing of Heartland.
"Hillwood has put together a brain trust of land planners, education consultants, trail experts and residential specialists with a mandate to create what is essentially, a small city from scratch," said James Mabrey of Mabrey & Partners LLC.
"Buyers will purchase homes priced from the $90s -- remarkable in itself in this beautifully planned, imaginatively designed environment. Families will live and thrive with the best of all amenities, which include multiple pools, expansive parks, ball fields, sports courts and nature trails," added Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Residential.
Heartland, located in Kaufman County between Forney and Crandall at the southeast corner of I-20 and FM 741, will provide more than 8,000 homes for approximately 25,000 residents. The community will feature 400 acres of open spaces, parks, greenbelts and linear systems with miles of trails, all designed around the natural terrain, creeks and location of schools. Safe access to seven on-site schools in the highly-acclaimed Crandall Independent School District also was a primary consideration in planning an elaborate trails system.
"Schools have been strategically planned within the neighborhoods and trail systems rather than at the edges of the community," said Mabrey. "It's a plan geared toward walking to schools rather than being driven -- favorably impacting safety, convenience and pollution." Formerly known as Kingsborough, the development won the "Best Land Deal of 2003" award by the Dallas Business Journal for its creation of an educational fund to help the highly acclaimed Crandall ISD maintain its exemplary rating as well as provide scholarships to future residents.
Heartland's master plan has been influenced by other highly successful master-planned neighborhoods around the country that are family-oriented with a strong sense of community, such as Valencia in California and Celebration in Florida.
"We have learned a great deal from these pioneering developments in helping us create this family-oriented lifestyle, but with a Texas flair," said Mabrey. "Phase I will consist of 500 single-family detached homes priced from the $90s to the $180s. Builder participants, Horizon Homes, D.R. Horton Homes, Lennar Homes and NuHome, are expected to deliver homes in early 2006," Balda said.
Since 1987, Hillwood Residential has delivered more than 18,000 single- family lots in more than 30 cities throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Hillwood is known for its development of the 18,000-acre AllianceTexas project, 15 miles northwest of Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, and the $420-million American Airlines Center and Victory near downtown Dallas.