'Mansion' apartments head further northward

Coppell developer plans high-end rentals for town of Prosper

Dallas Business Journal - by Bill Hethcock Staff Writer

A Coppell-based developer has bought land in Prosper and plans to build more than 600 luxury apartments in one of the first multifamily projects for the town in years.

Western Rim Property Services has closed on 20 acres northwest of U.S. 380 and Coit Road, and plans to build more than 300 of its high-end "Mansions" brand apartments on the land, said Glenn Garoon, vice president of acquisitions for Western Rim. The developer has a contract on an adjacent 20 acres and plans about 300 more apartments on it, Garoon said.

"We think it will be a nice addition to that market," he said. "Hopefully we'll start turning dirt after the first of the year."

The seller of both parcels is Dallas-based Mooreland Development Co. The parties would not disclose a sale price.

Mooreland owns 63 acres, including 41 zoned multifamily, so zoning changes were not required, Garoon said.

Strong demographics, including median household incomes topping $100,000, attracted Western Rim to Prosper, Garoon said. The average Western Rim apartment tenant has an income exceeding $100,000, which is almost twice that of the company's typical competitors such as JPI and Fairfield Residential, he said.

The extension of the Dallas North Tollway and Prosper's highly regarded schools also factored into the decision to build there, Garoon said.

"This is just a logical progression of North Dallas from Frisco, which quite frankly has become difficult to find multifamily (land) in," he said. "You have really high barriers to entry in some of the other (Dallas-suburb) cities. That's why things keep spreading out."

The Mansions brand has large units, large clubhouses and lots of amenities, so the rentals attract people who can afford to buy single-family homes but choose to rent, Garoon said. Units range from 1,100 square feet to 2,600 square feet. Garoon declined to say how much the Prosper apartments will cost to build or how much they will rent for.

The Mansions will be the first apartments to break ground in Prosper in more than 10 years, said Dan Tolleson, director of the city's Economic Development Council. No economic incentives were involved in the deal, he said.

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