Hines buys 1,476-acre Brown Ranch on the west side, plans 3,800 homes over about 12 years

Houston-based Hines has completed its purchase of Brown Ranch, a 1,476-acre property on Fort Worth's western edge, and plans to build about 3,800 single-family homes there over roughly 12 years, The Real Deal reported Monday.

The deal follows about a year of negotiations between Hines and the city over how the ranch would be developed.

What is planned

Lots would range from 2,000 to 4,500 square feet, according to Rob Witte, who leads residential land development in the Americas for Hines. Plans include at least three amenity centers, 10 neighborhood parks, a trail system and about 70 acres for commercial uses.

Six builders are lined up: Beazer Homes, DRB Homes, HistoryMaker Homes, Meritage Homes, Pulte Homes and Risewell Homes. Trez Capital is Hines' capital partner, and Harvest Capital and TPG Credit are financing the purchase and development.

The purchase price was not disclosed. Landy Burdine of Land Advisors Organization, who represented the Brown family with colleagues Austin Reilly and Josh Watson, said he expects the homes to average about $500,000.

Roads first

Hines obtained a municipal utility district for the project, but in exchange it must build major off-site roads, Burdine said. He told the publication that roads were the central issue in talks with the city, which wanted to avoid the congestion that has followed rapid home building in far north Fort Worth.

According to Burdine, Hines will build Walsh Ranch Parkway as the main north-south route linking White Settlement Road with Interstate 20, and will also build West Point Boulevard and improve Old Weatherford Road. The ranch sits next to Walsh Ranch, which the same brokers helped sell about a decade ago.

Sources

therealdeal.com