Bright Realty Kicks Off $1.5B TX Mixed-Use Project

By Barbra Murray

The Realm at Castle Hills

The Realm at Castle Hills, a mixed-use project in Lewisville, Texas, will soon begin to take shape on a 324-acre site roughly 25 miles north of Dallas. Bright Realty just broke ground on the development, which will be constructed in the Castle Hills master-planned community in phases. Construction of Phase I of The Realm, spearheaded by general contractor Hill & Wilkinson, is on track to reach completion in mid-2019.

Phase I of The Realm consists of Offices at The Realm, a 235,000-square-foot office building designed by architecture firm BOKA Powell. In addition to Class A+ office space, the nine-story tower will feature 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. The first phase also calls for the creation of Crescent Park, a park and outdoor entertainment venue. Commercial real estate services firm Colliers has been tapped to market the office space, while Bright Realty will oversee leasing of the building’s retail segment.

Bright Realty is gearing up for Phase II of The Realm as well, with the commencement of groundwork for the second segment, which will deliver a 260-unit residential complex atop 35,000 square feet of retail space. Bright Realty is relying on Southwest Bank to provide financing for the development of The Realm, which, according to Dallas News, will cost $1.5 billion to complete.

“The demand to live, work and play in the same area has transformed our suburban communities,” Chris Bright, CEO of Bright Realty, said in a prepared statement. “The Realm is designed with that in mind and with a focus on an overall quality of life that offers a sophisticated suburban setting with generous outdoor and event spaces.”

Mixed-use mania

Across the U.S., mixed-use projects account for a notable segment of construction activity, which is booming. According to a 2018 report by property and construction advisory services firm Rider Levett Bucknell, “Mixed-use development is the second largest market, making up nearly 25 percent of all cranes in North America.”

As is the case in many major metropolitan cities in the U.S., the mixed-use trend is evident in the Dallas area. Among the long list of mixed-use projects planned or in the works is the 400-acre Grandscape, which is being built less than 30 miles north of Dallas in The Colony. Bayside, a $1 billion development featuring a Crystal lagoon, is being planned for a 262-acre site in Rowlett, roughly 15 miles outside downtown Dallas. 

Image courtesy of Bright Realty