Main Square Development is taking a big swing for its first development project.
The Plano-based developer plans to build 3,800 housing units in a master-planned community in Terrell, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
Main Square’s 1,500-acre project will feature 2,400 single-family homes, 270 townhomes and 1,200 multifamily units, according to filings with the Terrell Planning and Zoning Commission.
The project, dubbed Terra Nova, would also include 112 acres of commercial space, 145 acres of parks and trails and a 50-acre downtown-style district called Terra Nova Village.
Homes are expected to start around $400,000, with some priced up to $1.2 million, and average lot sizes will be 50 feet. The full buildout could span 14 to 16 phases, with residential construction kicking off first, potentially by the end of 2025.
“We need the roofs to support the commercial area,” said Main Square President Hugo Morales, a former Kimley-Horn executive who founded the company last year.
Main Square also plans to spend $110 million on road and trail infrastructure and $24 million on parks. The firm expects the commission to vote on the proposal this month with a hopeful city council hearing in August.
Terrell, a town of 23,000 in Kaufman County, has become a magnet for large-scale development.
The county saw the second-fastest population growth in the nation from 2023 to 2024, according to Census Bureau data. Major projects nearby include a new Terrell State Hospital, a proposed 282-acre industrial park by Hunt Consolidated and a nearly 1-million-square-foot distribution center by Seefried Industrial Properties.
Morales said Main Square turned to Terrell after finding land prices too high to pencil out deals in North Dallas suburbs. In addition to Terra Nova, the firm owns land in Cedar Hill and is eyeing future development in Royse City and Sherman.
“We plan on being master planners,” Morales told the outlet. “We have plenty of land to keep us busy for a few years.”
— Judah Duke