As part of an enhanced notification process in Flower Mound’s Master Plan, about 50 residents listened to a preliminary proposal for the Bunn Gourley developments east and west of Flower Mound Road and south of Cross Timbers Road.
The proposed developments, referred to as Bunn East and Bunn West, involve a combination of residential and retail development in what developers called a high-end market area of Flower Mound.
During the meeting at the Lantana Golf Club Tuesday, residents focused more on the Bunn East project, which is being proposed to be removed from the Cross Timbers Conservation Development District since neighboring land use is primarily higher density use, said Robert Paul, division president of Toll Brothers.
Owners of about five to six tracts are working together to seek the removal of the property from the conservation development district, Paul said.
Density for Bunn East residential development was proposed as 10,000 square feet if the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council approved its removal from the conservation development district.
“Flower Mound Road is the dividing road on what is allowed in density,” Paul said. “We are drawing that line in the sand at Flower Mound Road.”
The residential portion of Bunn East is proposed to have 280 homes valued at an estimated $500,000 on 120 acres at medium density, Paul said, adding company officials were open to residents’ suggestions. He indicated economics and surrounding property uses were the deciding factors in the Bunn East proposal, though officials could still change the project as needed.
Gerald Robinson, a resident who has served on several town committees in Flower Mound, questioned the density and the project’s removal from the conservation district. He also cited concerns about the removal of trees on the Bunn East project.
“I, for one, could not support the project as it is today,” Robinson said, adding he could support the project if it was being removed from the conservation development district and would be developed similar to The Sanctuary, which abuts a 98.65 nature preserve. The development features more of a rural feel with larger acreage in an area also bordered by McKamy Creek Road/Wichita Trail, Twin Coves Park Road and Grapevine Lake.
Residents also questioned the impact on neighboring schools. Paul said discussions with Lewisville Independent School District officials indicated it would not cause overcrowding at McKamy Middle School and would help fill Liberty Elementary School. Traffic from the homes also was a concern, with Paul responding that though they had not completed a traffic study, the nearby six-lane and four-lane divided highways should be able to handle the additional traffic.
One resident queried Paul about the gas well currently on the Bunn East property. Paul said the company had reached an agreement with the gas well owner to close the gas well permanently, which would eliminate the need for a 500-foot buffer between the well and the proposed residential neighborhood.
When asked what the company would do if the proposed development was rejected, Paul said Toll Brothers owns the property and would develop it regardless, though amending it to town preferences.
“What we’re proposing here is not a done deal,” Paul said. “It is not a final decision.”
Douglas Powell, executive director of development services with the Town of Flower Mound, said the project has been around for a while. “This has been something that has been talked about for a couple of years,” he said, adding that no decisions had been made at the town level regarding the project.
The next step for Bunn East will be to submit an application to the town for consideration of removal of property from the conservation development district. A preliminary timeline involves a second discussion with residents on Sept. 25 at Bridlewood in Flower Mound followed by a possible hearing with the town’s planning and zoning commission on Oct. 13 and a hearing before the town council on Oct. 20.
Situated on an estimated 18.79 acres on the southeast quadrant at Cross Timbers Road and Flower Mound Road, a proposed high-end specialty retail center would cater to a demographic with significant disposable income, according to Bill Deacon of Wm. Deacon Co., Inc. Deacon, who said his family bought the land in the 1950s, hopes to create a specialty shopping center that would draw people from surrounding neighborhoods.
Deacon said the retail trade area shows the potential for attracting an estimated 17,556 high-end customers earning an average $200,001 per year with disposable income within a 2.5-square-mile radius. In a 7-square-mile area, the estimated average household income hovered at $165,544 with a potential draw of about 35,800 people.
The estimated income levels and potential draw meet the market demand to support the specialty shopping center, he said.
Deacon told the crowd that the proposed Park West Village could be a destination center offering high-end signature restaurants and other entertainment as well as maintain the aesthetics of the property with tree groves and water features. The cluster building proposal, designed to not be the typical shopping center, would offer the potential for reaching a large number of customers through several major thoroughfares along Flower Mound Road and Cross Timbers Road from both Interstate 35W and Interstate 35E.
“Specialty shopping centers are small,” Deacon said of the project, which would also feature office space above the retail areas. Trail connections would allow nearby residents to walk to the retail development.
“If the master plan amendment is approved, it would be at the periphery and was designed following master plan guidelines,” he said.
In an outline on the Bunn West properties, which is solely owned by Toll Brothers, plans call for a residential development with homes valued at $650,000 to $800,000. Using a cluster development design, an estimated 105 lots would be located on almost 171 acres with 84.9 acres of open space. The estimated density would be .61 dwelling units per acre, Paul said.
Four clusters of homes were designed to allow the open space to follow the topography of the property, leaving tree groves and water features in place. Amenities include a hike and bike trail and equestrian trail as well as view corridors for passersby to see the open space at key intersections including Quail Run and bends in Flower Mound Road. Also proposed is a pedestrian bridge and a vehicular bridge, Paul said.
The project would remain in the conservation development district, Paul said.
“What we’re proposing can change a little, but it’s close,” Paul said. “We’ll probably match this plan real close.”
Bunn West would require a zoning application to be filed with the town and would require significant details.
Robinson told the developers that he liked the plan for Bunn West while other Flower Mound residents posed few questions, indicating they thought the proposal was “beautiful.”
“We tried to make it right for the land,” Paul said.
