The City of Willow Park City Council voted at their November 12, 2024 meeting to begin the annexation process for approximately 317 acres on the southwest corner of I-20 and FM 1187, paving the way for the largest development in the city’s history.
“We’re grateful for the dedicated efforts of the City of Willow Park team, whose support and vision have been instrumental in making this annexation possible,” said Robert Beall, representing Beall-Dean Ltd, the developer for the project.
The site is caddy-cornered across from the 110-acres annexed Oct. 29 by the Fort Worth City Council and just a few miles west of Walsh and the future home of University of Texas-Arlington West.
“This represents an exciting new chapter for the city,” said City Manager Bryan Grimes. “Not only will it have a huge economic benefit on Willow Park itself, it will directly impact our neighbors in the area. We have been working with Robert Beall for more than a year to bring this to fruition. We are thankful to all parties involved for their hard work in sitting down together and working out something that will be a real asset to both our city and our region.”
At buildout, the mixed-use development is expected to have a value of roughly $500 million dollars and roughly double the city’s sales tax collection. The city collected around $2 million in sales tax last year.
The city and Beall-Dean Ranch Ltd., have released a concept plan (subject to change) that proposes 135.2 acres of commercial development, 91.7 acres of multi-family residential development, 35.3 acres of single-family residential, and 55.5 acres of light industrial use. The plan also includes parks, green space, and trails.
“Preserving green space – where we can – is always a priority for Willow Park. We are well aware of the natural beauty here and value it tremendously,” said Director of Communications and Marketing Rosealee Hoffman. “This is going to be a big step for us in east Parker County. I can certainly understand the local residents’ hesitation for any type of development, but the westward crawl of the metroplex has been inevitable since long before my parents moved here in the mid-1970’s. We’ve always known it’s going to happen eventually.
“By annexing this area into the city, we can have a hand in shaping what our future is going to look like and create something meaningful.”
The city will create a Public Improvement District within the development and issue bonds to cover the costs of infrastructure within the development, which will be repaid from the assessments on the homes and businesses within the PID. Both parties have also agreed to a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which will rebate property taxes to the developer by 50 percent for 40 years.
A traffic study will be performed prior to the final design in consultation with the city, TxDOT, and Parker County. Once the developer’s agreement is executed, the city will have 24 months to run utility service to the site, and the city expects some businesses and homes to be ready within 12-18 months after the connection of the utility services.
Media contact:
Rosealee Hoffman, CPC, APIO
682-239-6049
rhoffman@willowpark.org
Director of Communication and Marketing
City of Willow Park
