Plano-based Shaddock Homes, in partnership with Drees Homes and Coventry Homes, has begun the development of The Homestead, a new 490-home community in Rockwall, Texas.
As part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Rockwall has seen an annual population growth of 4.14%, with a current population of 53,864 compared to 47,696 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census.
The Homestead project to convert 196 acres of what used to be a family farm near the intersection of FM 549 and FM 1139 into a luxurious residential community will likely contribute to this city’s future development.
William Lawson Lawhorn came to the area with his wife Martha Kara and began the historic farm in 1880. Lawhorn erected a two-story farmhouse nine years later that continues to stand on the property.
The farm grew cotton and rose in prominence before the Lawhorns left in 1942. Rockwall’s former mayor Ben Klutts purchased it soon thereafter for agricultural purposes.
The first phase of the project to convert Klutts’ farm into The Homestead will begin in April, starting with civil improvements to the land.
Homes will be built on 60- and 70-foot lots starting sometime around the summer of 2024.
The second phase will focus on the community’s state-of-the-art amenities.
The farmhouse has remained mostly unoccupied after 1942, with a brief occupation by the police during their hunt for the notorious gangster couple Bonnie and Clyde.
Having deteriorated over time, the more than a century-old house has sustained too much damage to renovate.
However, to preserve some of its history, Shaddock Homes plans to repurpose some of the farmhouse’s materials in the construction of its new amenity center, The Dallas Morning News reported.
In an interview with The Dallas Business Journal, co-owner and vice-president of Shaddock Homes Peter Shaddock Jr. explained that through its amenity center, a pool, and pickleball courts, Homestead residents will have lots of activities to choose from.
There will also be a considerable amount of green recreational space available, as Shaddock Homes has dedicated 50 acres of the site to the Rockwall Parks Department.
Shaddock Jr. sees the homes, which will have a starting price of around $550,000, as ideal for people looking to level up.
“They may be in a 10-year-old home that they’ve outgrown or they want something new and fresh,” Shaddock Jr. explained to the DBJ.
Homes will be available starting around May 2025.
Alongside Rockwall’s demographic strengths in terms of population growth, density, and income — the median of which is over $100,000 — the location offers many draws for developers like Shaddock Homes.
Rockwall continues to undergo significant infrastructure and bridge renovations over Interstate 30.
“The area is favorable to a lot of buyers and you’ve got all the amenities that you would need,” said Shaddock Jr., per the DMN.
Shaddock Homes is a family business that has been building homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth region for nearly six decades.
Many developers have turned to projects outside of the Dallas city limits due to the notoriously long turnaround rates for its construction permits.
It is the job of the Development Service Department (DSD) to issue local construction permits and oversee sustainable land development throughout the city. The average time to approve a single-family building permit in Dallas deters that growth, as The Dallas Express has extensively reported.