Luxury home builder plans development near Fort Worth’s Lake Como
A Houston-based builder known for homes topping $800,000 plans to develop 9.9 acres southeast of Lake Como.
Texas InTown Homes plans to build 20 attached and 27 detached single family homes south of Diaz Avenue and west of Penticost Street next to Lake Como park, according to city documents.
Though the size and price range of the homes is unknown, InTown advertises that it brings “premier luxe design and amenity-rich urban living within reach.”
InTown Homes did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting comment.
Its homes in Dallas and Addison range from $455,000 to $854,000. In Houston, they’re $369,000 to $830,000.
The City Plan Commission on Sept. 22 granted the developer a year extension to get final approvals for the project paperwork. Staff with the city’s development services department called the project a “catalyst development” for its potential to spur investment in the area.
Mary Jo Thomas, former president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors, worried about the development’s affect on affordable housing. She said Fort Worth has a greater need for affordable housing specifically in the $200,000 price range.
Thomas quipped she was old enough to remember when houses cost around $50,000. She said there were still plenty of homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 range up until 2018.
Thomas’ son and fellow Fort Worth real estate agent Shelby Kimball said higher property taxes from a luxury development could displace low income residents in the adjacent Como neighborhood. According to statistics from the city’s Como Area Neighborhood Improvement Program, the median household income in Como is $26,328 with a 26% poverty rate.
“Como has been squeezed all around in terms of property values going up and up,” Kimball said. “I think a lot of people would hate to see a cultural change try to come in there.”
Longtime Como resident and community leader Estrus Tucker acknowledged his community is experiencing gentrification. His focus has been on leveraging new development in ways that are beneficial to the community.
“Our hope and intent is that that kind of development on the eastern border of the park will have some benefit and value to the park itself and to the neighboring communities,” Tucker said.
He pointed to an area of Lake Como park that after years of reduced foot traffic has developed into a birding sanctuary. Tucker said there have been talks between community leaders and representatives of the developer to help clean up sections of the park while protecting the habitat.
Tucker said a preliminary presentation of development led him to believe the project won’t serve Como’s less affluent residents, however, he said he’d reserve judgment for when the project is closer to completion.
He urged the developer to consider a mix of housing options for different income brackets to help address the area’s need for more affordable housing.
“Gentrification is already changing us,” Tucker said. “We’re just trying to not let it eradicate, destroy and completely displace us within a generation.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 5:15 AM.
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