Terrell is aiming to upend the traditional approach to growth
Published: Wed, 11/02/22
Terrell is aiming to upend the traditional approach to growth
While some towns hope new homes will attract industry, its city officials hope jobs and shopping will attract new homes.
By Kyle Arnold; Dallas Morning News
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Update: This story is part of Boomtowns, a look at some of the cities surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth that are attracting the interest of homebuilders, businesses and new residents as the area grows.
TERRELL — While some politicians hope new homes will bring jobs and shopping to their cities, Terrell is trying to become living proof that jobs and shopping can attract new homes.
Terrell city leaders have spent the last decade trying to reinvent the Kaufman County city as a commerce destination, with big box national retailers and distribution centers for AutoZone and Walmart, using tax breaks to attract new business while the surrounding region grows.
After snagging a Buc-ee’s mega convenience store and gas station in 2015, the city used tax breaks to help Anthony Properties create the Crossroads at Terrell retail district now occupied by Academy Sports, Hobby Lobby, Ross, Olive Garden and most recently Texas Roadhouse. One of the shopping district’s most unique attractions is Film Alley, a combination movie theater, bowling alley and family entertainment complex that caters to children’s birthday parties and adults as well.
Those were big gets for Terrell, a community of 18,567 people that competes with other nearby fast-growing suburbs such as Forney and Rockwall.
“We’ve got in the pipeline over 4,000 single-family homes,” said Ray Dunlap, president of the Terrell Economic Development Corp. “And because we built that retail hub, our neighbors won’t be able to bring anything like it.”
A look at Terrell in images. (see remaining images at dallasnews.com)
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[2/12] A now hiring sign flies outside the new Texas Roadhouse at the Crossroads at Terrell shopping center.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[3/12] An entrance to the Walmart distribution center in Terrell.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[4/12] The Crossroads at Terrell shopping center, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Terrell, Texas.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[5/12] Cars drive along East Moore Avenue in downtown Terrell on Sept. 28.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[6/12] A sign along Airport Road welcomes people to Terrell.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[7/12] An AutoZone distribution center entrance sign.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[8/12] Several shops at the Crossroads at Terrell.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[9/12] Mega convenience store chain Buc-ee's opened its first D-FW area location in Terrell, a 60,000-square-foot store that spurred development at the intersection including a movie theater, restaurants and big-box stores.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[10/12] A shot of downtown Terrell, an area that is being targeted by city economic development officials to add more retail and restaurants.(Terrell Economic Development Cor)
[11/12] Ford pickup trucks sit outside at Platinum Ford in Terrell.(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
[12/12] Glass bottles are filled with milk at the bottling production facility of 1836 Farms in Terrell. The company bought and renovated an abandoned building and redeveloped it into a production facility for its creamery. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
To find Terrell, head east of Dallas on Interstate 20 or Highway 80 and look for the point where the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex ends and rural East Texas begins. Dunlap said Terrell isn’t trying to position itself as either a bedroom community to Dallas or a rural outpost.
“In our view, we are a self-contained community that just happens to be close to Dallas,” he said.
Terrell is also one of the most diverse exurbs in the region, with 25.6% of its residents identifying as Black and 28.2% as Hispanic, according to the 2020 Census.
Sitting 30 miles east of downtown Dallas, Terrell’s average single-family home sells for about $260,000, almost 50% cheaper than in Dallas proper.
Developers started construction on 200 new homes over the last two years with an average value of $200,000. Dunlap thinks the city still has some growing to do in terms of adding homes.
The city’s population grew 17% between 2010 and 2021. Kaufman County, which also includes fast-growing Forney, Kaufman and Crandall, grew 40% between 2010 and 2020, making it one of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the nation with more than 100,000 residents, according to Census Bureau data.
Now Terrell is trying to develop its older central district, with plans for new parks and hopes to revitalize downtown Terrell’s historic brick facades with more boutique shopping, restaurants and a handful of upper-floor apartments to give a loft residence feeling to the area.
“We built the jobs, we built the retail, now its time to bring the people here,” Dunlap said.