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Dallas

What rate hikes? Resi developers flood North Texas boomtown

Pilot Point, home to an annual Bonnie & Clyde Days Festival, is seeing new development proposals every day, according to its city manager

Pilot Point (Renelibrary CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Getty)
Pilot Point (Renelibrary CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Getty)

A Denton County town of less than 5,000— home to an annual Bonnie & Clyde Days Festival— is the latest Texas “Boomtown.”

Located 61 miles north of downtown Dallas, Pilot Point is Denton County’s oldest city, being founded in the mid-1800s. It’s filled with quaint colonial-style homes, historic architecture, horse farms, trails, and the beautiful Lake Ray Roberts State Park. The city was home to the highest point of ground between Texarkana and Fort Worth, “pointing the way” for travelers and cattle drivers, according to the city website.

It’s the textbook definition of “small town charm” but that might be about to change.

To start, prolific homebuilders Arlington-based D.R. Horton and M/I Homes are expected to build 600 homes in Pilot Point this year, according to the Dallas Morning News.

That’s already more than five times the number built in 2021, plus the town’s director of development services John Taylor indicated that there are at least 15 more residential developments in the works as well. He said the city plans to preserve the historic homes and architecture near downtown while approving more master-planned developments.

Incoming development proposals increase “almost daily,” says city manager Britt Lusk, adding that even city officials say they don’t know just how much the city is going to grow.

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“The large majority of people have said ‘we’re growing, we don’t have a choice,’” Lusk said. “So let’s make sure that if we’re going to grow, let’s do it responsibly.”

Lusk, along with local developer Lisa Brown, cite the city’s history and small town charm as major growth magnets. The city’s largest employer, Western Son Vodka distillery is also a big draw. In 2016, after outgrowing its operating space in Carrollton, the company moved into a former women’s undergarments factory in Pilot Point. According to senior marketing director Erin King, Western Son is hoping commercial development will draw a greater labor pool to Pilot Point.

“People want small-town charm, but they also want conveniences,” King said.

Pilot Point’s current retail offerings are primarily mom-and-pop stores, but Lusk says city officials expect that to change based on talks with commercial developers.

Meanwhile, Pilot Point residents are staying alert. Wendy Turner, who has served as director of the Pilot Point library for eight years, works with the local museum and longtime residents to preserve city history.

“We have a very strong group of people who like being a small town with a lot of history,” Turner said. “So it’s important that the city maintains that while encouraging growth.”

— Maddy Sperling