Fort Worth and Aledo file lawsuit to halt a $500M development on disputed land
The cities of Fort Worth and Aledo have filed a lawsuit against Willow Park, alleging the neighboring city unlawfully annexed land last year for a 321-acre, $500 million mixed-use development .
In the court documents, which were filed Feb. 9 in the 43rd District Court in Parker County, Fort Worth and Aledo accuse Willow Park of improperly acquiring land outside the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, and of annexing northern and southern portions of Bankhead Highway that fall within Fort Worth’s ETJ and Aledo’s ETJ and city limits.
An extraterritorial jurisdiction is an area outside the city limits where a municipality still has some control over development.
“For this extraordinary infringement on the sovereign borders of other municipalities, Fort Worth and Aledo seek a declaration that the annexations at issue were unlawful and void ab initio, thereby rendering void all actions taken by Willow Park in relation to the unlawful annexations,” the plaintiffs’ petition reads.
A Fort Worth spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation. A Willow Park spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An Aledo spokesperson shared the following statement:
“The City of Aledo has brought suit to protect its sovereign municipal boundaries. It’s unfortunate that it has come to litigation, but Willow Park refuses to respect other cities’ municipal boundaries.”
Fort Worth and Aledo are not seeking monetary relief, according to the court petition, but the cities have asked for a temporary injunction to halt further development on the annexed land.
The property in question is owned by developer Robert Beall and was formerly part of the Dean Ranch. The property was once in Fort Worth’s ETJ, but Beall petitioned the city to release it. In November 2024, Willow Park annexed the land into its ETJ at Beall’s request.
However, Fort Worth and Aledo argue the Bankhead Highway kept the Beall property from being contiguous to Willow Park’s boundaries, meaning it couldn’t legally be annexed.
A message left for Beall at his office was not immediately returned.
In February 2025, Willow Park annexed 7,313 feet of the Bankhead Highway, from just west of Nu Energy Drive to FM 1187. The plaintiffs argue that also was done in violation of the law as a way to establish contiguity with the Beall property after it had already been improperly annexed.
According to a Weatherford News report from February 2025, Beall’s company, Beall Development, is planning for single-family residential, multifamily residential, commercial and light industrial development on the annexed site. The property’s page on the Beall Development website doesn’t provide specifics, other than identifying the location.
“Now part of Willow Park, TX, Beall Investments is working with various partners on the next phase of development,” the webpage says. “This site is perfectly positioned at the southwest corner of I-20 and FM 1187 with the city of Aledo’s ETJ along the southern boundary and the city of Fort Worth’s ETJ along the eastern boundary.”
Fort Worth and Aledo’s court petition acknowledged the Beall property’s tremendous value.
“This tract of land, known as the ‘Beall Property,’ is the subject site for a proposed development that would ultimately bring significant new sources of revenue to Willow Park,” the filing reads.
The Weatherford News reported the $500 million development would “roughly double the city’s current sales tax collection.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 3:19 PM.