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Redevelopment sprouting
Developer shapes direction of building in downtown area12:01 AM CDT on Sunday, May 11, 2008
Despite delays, Town Homes at Pecan Creek — a building project by Jay Thomas — is under construction at the corner of East Mulberry and Industrial streets.
The first phase of the project — two buildings with seven town homes — is slated to be finished by the end of summer. The second building phase, projected to be completed by the end of the year, will bring the total to 14 luxury town homes. Thomas, owner of Thomas Heritage Homes, said five town homes are under contract for sale.
“We’ll have people in here in about four months,” he said.
The lack of existing building codes for town homes prompted Thomas to apply for four variances and file one alternative development plan with the city. The initial completion date was scheduled for September 2007.
“Until recently, there hasn’t been a reason for these types of codes,” he said, adding that with the changing market, land prices are higher, making redevelopment more appealing.
Aside from that, a town home hasn’t been built in Denton for 23 years, Thomas said.
“Denton is just getting started with redevelopment,” he added.
While there are challenges in working in the downtown area such as space constraints, traffic and tying in or adding on to pre-existing utilities, Thomas said redevelopment of downtown is beneficial.
“It’s a win-win situation,” he said.
In addition to added tax revenue for the city, other gains include a new purpose for otherwise unused space.
Thomas stresses that redevelopment must be done carefully, with thought and courtesy to surrounding neighbors’ desires, paying close attention to the architecture of the area.
The two- and three-story town homes will be built with the look and feel of a 1920s town-square retail building, said Thomas, who has been building historically styled homes in Denton, Collin, Grayson, Cooke and Wise counties for 15 years. His custom homebuilding emulates American bungalows from the Arts and Crafts period.
The project will sport the look of row houses and brownstones, familiar to Chicago residents. Each unit will have a different facade and its own garage.
Four floor plans will be offered, with two plans offering two bedrooms in a two-story format at approximately 1,600 square feet.
The other two will be larger at 1,900 square feet and three stories with the option of two or three bedrooms. Pricing for individual town homes will start at around $160,000.
When DSC Limited Partnership, which is developing the property, bought it two years ago, the Denton company took a risk, Thomas said. The recent restaurant redevelopment on Industrial Street had not yet begun.
“DSC is filling a demand for the desire to live downtown,” he said. “It’s proven by all the people renting and now with this project there are properties that can owned.”
Julie Glover, downtown development manager, said the properties at 215 E. Mulberry St. are unique because they are being sold as individual properties.
“There is quite a lot of economic activity happening in that corner,” Glover said about the new restaurants such as Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, which opened late last year, and Rooster’s Roadhouse, which is opening in early June on Industrial Street.
She says housing is just as important as business because it will add to the growth of the area.
Thomas said Denton has potential with its downtown area.
“We have huge assets with our downtown, beautiful old buildings and a historic courthouse,” he said.
DSC wanted to cater to active professionals who want to live in a downtown setting, close to the arts, restaurants, shopping and future light rail station, Thomas said.
“Somebody should be living in these town homes 100 years from now,” he said.
Staff writer Karina Ramírez contributed to this story.
RANDENA HULSTRAND can be reached at 940-566-6845. Her e-mail address is rhulstrand@dentonrc.com .
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