• Dallas-based developer Republic Property Group added Toll Brothers to its list of homebuilders for the first phase of its 7,200-acre Walsh master-planned community in Fort Worth, TX, according to a company release. The development can accommodate more than 15,000 homes.

• The Pennsylvania-based national homebuilder joins David Weekley Homes, Drees Homes, Highland Homes and Village Homes for the initial phase, which will include 580 homes, a 10,000-square-foot gym, a pool, a recreational lake, hiking trails and walking paths.

• The lots range from 3,800 square feet to nearly an acre. Homes will be priced from the upper $200,000s. The neighborhood will add an elementary school beginning in the 2017 to 2018 school year. Residents, businesses and other buildings in the community will have access to 2GB internet with the option to upgrade to 10GB.

Dive Insight:

The Walsh development is the latest in a line of master planned communities sprouting up across Texas as the state’s metros face a population influx due to affordable home prices and healthy employment levels, along with stronger wage growth.

In September, real estate consultancy RCLCO included four Texas markets in its list of the top 25 metropolitan statistical areas based on for-sale housing activity: Austin-Round Rock; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington; San Antonio-New Braunfels; and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land. And companies like Jacobs Engineering Group and Toyota have announced plans to move their headquarters from California to the state in light of lower relative housing costs.

This week, David Weekley Homes, Gehan Homes and Horizon Homes were named as builders of the first phase of the Gateway Parks MPC in Forney, TX. In October, San Diego-based developer Newland Communities opened the 3,600-acre Elyson MPC west of Houston, counting eight homebuilders and a capacity for 6,200 homes.

In addition to their scale, many of these developments offer amenities beyond those typically available in new-construction developments, such as gyms, swimming pools, outdoor eating areas and light retail.

The focus isn’t just on single-family, either. This summer, Houston developer Surge Homes announced that it will deliver the first of 14 microcondo units planned for its project at the city’s $21.6 million Parc at Midtown development in early 2017. Meanwhile, a proposed 24-story, 550-microcondo-unit project by Houston developer Novel Creative Development that failed to draw younger buyers and instead shifted its purpose to condos that offer short-term rentals akin to home sharing.

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