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‘They are selling them as fast as they can build them’

By Jim Buice
For the Clemmons Courier

Lewisville has often been referred to as the ultimate bedroom community, and the year 2020 has continued that theme with what Mayor Mike Horn calls “explosive growth in residential real estate.”

The numbers don’t lie.

Stacy Tolbert, town planner, provided a chart with a time frame from 2019 to 2021, which includes subdivisions being approved, and houses being under construction and/or completed in each of the three years, with 16 different developments (including apartments) and a total of 726 new houses/units.

“As our planner told me, to get an accurate picture of residential development in Lewisville, we needed to take a look at when subdivisions were approved as there is a lag time between approval and when construction starts,” Horn said.

The leading subdivision, by a wide margin, is Conrad Farm, which is located off of Yadkinville Road, with 197 houses built in different phases on 212 acres with many still under construction.

“They are selling them as fast as they can build them,” Horn said. “And we’ve got many other developments that are all underway.”

The town has always taken pride in being a laid-back community in a rural setting, thus earning its reputation as an ideal location for commuters — and a prime place for builders.

“One of the things we’ve always done is that we’ve always wanted to create that sense of community,” Horn said. “When you have more residentially focused development, you can do that.”

Here’s the breakdown of the new residential real estate list in Lewisville for the three-year window: Conrad Farm, 197 homes; Glad Acres, 92; Woodview Estates, 65; Pegram Landing Apartments Phase I, 60; Pegram Landing Apartments Phase II, 60; Avalon (previously Avendell), 49; Longwood Village, 38; Gameway Estates, 30; Loch Lea, 30; Reynolds Run, 29; Belle Grove, 25; Amber Forest/Sedgewick, 21; The Lake at Lissara Section VI, 12; Lewisville Place Section V, 7; The Lake at Lissara Section V, 6; Terrace at Reynolds Run, 5.

Horn said that the list does not include non-subdivision starts that are single houses or developments with several lots.

“We are seeing these all over town,” Horn said. “It’s hard to keep a count on them as they do not require rezoning or subdivision plan approval.”

Residential real estate isn’t the only thing going on these days in Lewisville.

The new middle school, which is located off of Robinhood Road and Lewisville-Vienna Road, is under construction and scheduled to open in the 2021-22 school year.

“It is going to be an amazing addition,” Horn said. “Kids will be able to start school at Lewisville Elementary and go all the way through the ninth grade with the same group of kids.”

The north side of town is poised for more growth with the addition of the middle school along with a new sewer system. Horn explained that since the school needed a sewer that the town got together with the school system and contributed up to $450,000 to upsize the sewer line to serve the whole area, creating a win-win situation for both parties.

“So we helped the school system out because they were a little crunched in the bond situation,” Horn said. “And as a result, the understanding we have is that all of the middle school’s outdoor facilities, they won’t just be for the middle school. They will be some really nice community facilities as part of our partnership with the school system. It’s a little different. A lot of communities haven’t done this.”

Also in 2020, four major road projects in Lewisville were put on hold because that are partially state-funded.

The Gateway project between the Williams Road interchange with U.S. 421 that goes up to the Williams Road/Shallowford Road roundabout and is scheduled to include a median covering the distance between the two roundabouts has been on hold, but Horn said, “I think we’re moving ahead with it this spring.”

Horn added that there’s been a late start on the roundabout at Robinhood Road and Lewisville-Vienna Road to support the new school, and that the Lewisville-Clemmons Road widening project from Shallowford Road to Styers Ferry Road has been delayed along with the Great Wagon Road project, which was supposed to start right-of-way acquisition, but “that has been put off just a little bit.”

One project that has been moving ahead is the new 12,000-square-foot Mary Alice Warren Community Center, which held a groundbreaking ceremony in September with a scheduled completion in a year in September 2021.

“We’ve got more heavy equipment out there than they do for some of the DOT projects,” Horn said with a laugh.

The new facility will include a multi-purpose conference room that can accommodate up to 250 people or be divided into three smaller conference room areas. The building will also include an arts and crafts room, a small conference room, an large atrium area with fireplace and an outside covered event porch.

It is located on 15 acres on Lewisville Clemmons Road next to Jack Warren Park, a 15-acre multi-use park also donated to the Town of Lewisville by Mary Alice Warren.

“The goal as we move forward is to meld them into one 30-acre park,” Horn said.