New Vision for Cole Ranch Development in Denton
There’s a revamped vision for a 3,100-acre, mixed-use development in Denton. The Cole Ranch Company L.P. and Denton Range LLC have entered into a partnership with Houston-based Johnson Development on the planned Cole Ranch project.
The master-planned community, located west of Interstate 35W and south of the Denton Enterprise Airport, will include approximately 4,365 single-family homes. Home sales are expected to begin in 2027, Johnson Development announced Monday.
Builder and price information will be released at a later date. Plans to develop the area around Cole Ranch date back decades. Public meetings to discuss the thousands of homes coming to the site were held in 2015, and the Texas Legislature approved a municipal management district agreement for the Cole Ranch project in 2019.
Project Updates and Features
Denton City Council revised plans for the project earlier this year, reducing light industrial zoning by more than 300 acres. More of the site was designated for mixed-use and residential purposes. The foundational elements of the project remain the same, but Johnson Development assisted with some tweaks, said CEO and president Michael Smith.
The project’s trail system was expanded. Cole Ranch will preserve about 1,200 acres of green space with at least 26 miles of trails. Portions of the trails will explore the heavily-treed Hickory Creek areas. The property will also feature two community centers and enhanced lakefront features. The community has two lakes — a larger 32-acre body of water and a 13-acre lake.
The site will also have a variety of parks, including a planned 50-acre city park. Portions of Cole Ranch will be set aside for other uses. Plans call for 156 acres of commercial development, a 55-acre business park and 206 acres for two Denton elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.
Partnership and Investment
“Cole Ranch reflects the kind of development we’re passionate about — large-scale, thoughtfully planned, and deeply connected to its surroundings,” Smith said in a statement. Cole Ranch was purchased by Miner Thomas “MT” Cole in the 1930s. The 3,100-acre ranch was primarily used for cattle, crops and other livestock to support the family.
“We want to do this the right way,” Jennifer Alexander, Cole’s great-granddaughter, said in a statement. She lived with her great-grandmother on the ranch for several years as a child. “Cole Ranch is very near and dear to the family, and Johnson Development is the perfect partner to carry this vision forward, creating a timeless community that honors our history and the beauty of the area,” she added.
Denton Range LLC, a private held real estate investment firm managed by Silvestri Investments, is an investor in the project. Johnson Development has two other active Dallas-Fort Worth communities — Viridian in Arlington and Trinity Falls in McKinney.
Adjacent Developments
The Cole Ranch project is adjacent to Hillwood’s Landmark development, a 3,200-acre property at I-35W and Robson Ranch Road. Plans call for roughly 6,000 single-family homes at the development’s completion. Landmark will also hold more than 5 million square feet of commercial, mixed-use space and roughly 3,000 multifamily units fronting more than five miles near I-35W.
A rendering of Cole Ranch, a planned master-planned, mixed-use community in Denton.
Courtesy of Johnson Development
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