PMB Capital’s 5,200-acre development inches forward

Former Fort Worth ranchland is the subject of a multi-billion dollar plan

Forth Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and PMB Capital's Taylor Baird with Veale Ranch (City of Fort Worth, PMB Capital Investments, Republic Ranches)
Forth Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and PMB Capital's Taylor Baird with Veale Ranch (City of Fort Worth, PMB Capital Investments, Republic Ranches)

The City of Fort Worth is looking to get on board with a Dallas-based developer’s big rural master plan.

PMB Capital Investments has been planning to build what is essentially an entirely new town on the outskirts of Fort Worth. We’re talking industrial, commercial, mixed-use, institutional and residential developments spanning a total of 5,200 acres. The full tract would be annexed and developed in phases over 40 to 50 years.

The endeavor began with the Veale Ranch, which PMB bought in 2017. While exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, the former cattle ranch, owned by the same family since 1935, had been listed for $95 million.

“We’re called Cowtown for a reason, and if you eliminate that culture by developing all the agricultural land in an area, you eliminate the identity of the city,” a resident told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at the time.

A few years later, PMB bought the Rolling V Ranch as a long-term bet on demand for lower-priced homes on the outskirts of Fort Worth. At the time, the development was estimated at $3.5 billion.

A project of this scale has massive infrastructure needs andthe city of Fort Worth could help. Last month, the city council passed an item authorizing the city manager to execute a development agreement with PMB for the property, the Dallas Business Journal reports.

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The terms have not been finalized and are subject to change, but a version of the agreement includes economic incentives for the project. The agreement has PMB building infrastructure, parks, trails and community spaces, while the city is set to provide water and sewer services.

“This is an agreement that makes it efficient in terms of extending infrastructure to the entire area and allows us to thoughtfully plan it as a cohesive master-planned community,” said Taylor Baird, a partner at PMB. “We want to do this in a quality way that’s lasting and thoughtfully planned from a master-planning standpoint.”

Significant acreage will go to commercial uses, Baird told the publication, but declined to comment on negotiations with the city or give other details of the development.

“When you look at west Fort Worth, and the significant undeveloped land holdings that are in the western side of Fort Worth, there is great promise that there will be a lot of growth that way,” he said.

— Maddy Sperling