Homebuyers love urban feel, outdoor recreation at Lakeside

The single-family lots at Lakeside DFW have excited homebuyers.

Together, the three home builders — American Legend, Darling, and Normandy — have sold 40 lots (as of the last week of January 2014).

That’s one-third of the 119 lots in Phase I.  All of them sold prior to having a full complement of model homes open. (While the Normandy and American Legend models have been open for a month or more, Darling only expects to open their model home by the end of February).

The sales pace prompted lot developer JBGL Communities to move forward with Phase II, a 14.8-acre tract that will offer an additional 70 home sites. Completion of the lots is expected in the Fall of 2014.

“This an exciting project to be associated with,” said Jed Dolson, vice president of JBGL (now Green Brick Partners). “And it’s just going to get better with the mixed-use area [on Lakeside Parkway at International Parkway] beginning to take shape.”

Homebuyers are purchasing single-family lots at Lakeside at a pace that has exceeded nearly everyone’s expectations.

“We learned about Lakeside from a Flower Mound friend on a Thursday,” laughed one of the homebuyers, Susan Freeman. “And we signed a contract less than a week later on a Normandy home.” She and husband Karl, a fortyish couple that loves cycling, live in Coppell. They believed that there wouldn’t be a community in DFW that could satisfy their appetite for urban living as well as the great outdoors.

“We had resigned ourselves to the fact that we might have to purchase two homes,” said Freeman. “But Lakeside gave us the best of both worlds in one house. We’ll be able to go for a run with our dogs and then walk along Lakeside Parkway to enjoy a cup of coffee.

“This may well be our retirement home,” she added.

“My wife and I looked at communities in Coppell as well as in Las Colinas,” said a thirtyish homebuyer who lives in Addison. “We really wanted our first home to be close to the airport and major highways for work reasons,” he explained.

“One weekend we were looking at Darling Homes in Austin Waters and liked the low-maintenance lifestyle of the villa product offered there. We asked if any other locations in the Metroplex would have them too,” he said, “and coincidentally, Darling had just begun pre-selling in Lakeside DFW.”

It didn’t take long for the homebuyers to come to a decision.

“At Lakeside, we have the location and the convenience of nearby restaurants and retail,” he explained. “Being near the lake is a nice bonus.”om

In 1990, Ted and Terri Tucker came to Flower Mound and raised two children over the years. Now, Tucker says, “we want to be able to travel to see our children and grandchildren out-of-state without worrying about watering the lawn.

“The Darling villas at Lakeside give us the chance to do that,” he said. “Plus Terri and I like to stay fit and still run and ride often, so being close to the Lakeside Trail and Northshore Trail are a big plus.

“We also love dining out,” Tucker added, “and would love to have restaurants nearby so we wouldn’t have to drive into Dallas every weekend.”

A Valley Ranch couple with two young children (who wished to remain anonymous) was looking in Flower Mound because of the great schools.

“We drove by Lakeside and saw that Darling was building in the community,” said Alice (not her real name). “We’d had a good experience building our home with Darling five years ago and decided to get a little more information on the builders in Lakeside. Although we ended up choosing American Legend, we know the quality of all three builders in Lakeside and know that this is a good long-term investment for our family.

“What set Lakeside apart from other communities, in our opinion, is the concept of having urban conveniences (restaurants, retail) within walking distance as well as having the recreational benefits of being near the lake, the trail systems, and series of parks within the community.

“It is a unique development that seems great for our young family.”

“Lakeside,” said Donna Bradshaw, who (along with her husband) recently purchased a lot from American Legend, “is all about location.”

If that sounds like realtor-speak, you might guess that Bradshaw, a Flower Mound resident since 1997, is a top producer for REMAX’s Flower Mound office.

“You add water to a mix of exemplary schools, great access to DFW Airport, low taxes, plus shopping and restaurants,” she said, “well, it’s a home run.”

“For me, Lakeside is a lifestyle,” she emphasized, “urban sophistication meets lakeside recreation.”

By the way, Bradshaw, who currently lives in Lantana, isn’t the only realtor to have bought a house in Lakeside. “There are several well respected realtors who’ve chosen to live in Lakeside,” she said. “Whenever you have top pros in the industry who are making their home in a community, you know you’re on to something.”

Correction: The name of the community, Austin Waters, was mistakenly referred to as Austin Ranch in a previous version of this story.