Builder strikes land deal for 1,200 homes near PGA’s new Frisco headquarters

A Plano-based builder struck deals to buy land for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in one of North Texas’ largest and most anticipated new communities.

Entities tied to North Texas homebuilder and developer John Landon of Landon Homes bought 278 acres in two residential subdivisions of Frisco’s Fields development near PGA of America’s newly completed headquarters.

“We believed in the vision of this project as being one of the premier master-planned communities, not just in North Texas but the whole U.S.,” Landon told The News.

On Dec. 5, Landon completed his purchase of 363 lots across 104 acres in Fields’ Brookside North subdivision southwest of Fields Parkway and Legacy Drive to build homes under his luxury brand.

In a separate deal that closed Dec. 22, Landon acquired 870 lots on 174 acres in East Village on the other side of the Dallas North Tollway. That site has smaller lots, some of which will include townhomes.

“They’ll be smaller homes but still very high-quality, high-design houses,” Landon said.

The 2,500-acre Fields development is a project of Dallas’ Hunt Realty Investments and Karahan Cos., which was behind Plano’s Legacy West.

“That was a large commitment on [Landon’s] part,” said Fields developer Fehmi Karahan. “He has incredible knowledge of the Frisco market.”

The master-planned community will have thousands of new homes and apartments ranging from townhomes and duplexes to high-end custom homes, in addition to several commercial districts.

“To see what else is going to be built here is going to be exciting,” Landon said. “The future of this project couldn’t be any better, even though we’re in a housing downturn. That’s temporary, but this is an A-plus location.”

Landon’s property is next to Brookside South, which will have a collection of local and national builders that are soon to start almost 500 lots.

To the north will be The Preserve, a 267-acre community of multimillion-dollar custom homes. The first phase will include 10 different builders.

Karahan expects the first homes in Brookside North and The Preserve to begin construction by mid-2024, following the completion of an extension of Legacy Drive and a new street called Fields Parkway in 2023. Homes are expected begin construction in East Village by January 2025.

PGA of America opened the doors to its new Frisco headquarters in August. Twenty-six tournaments, including the 2027 and 2034 PGA Championships, have been scheduled for the next 15 years on the property’s two championship courses.

The Omni PGA Frisco resort next to the headquarters is set to open by early May, aimed to attract golf professionals and fans from around the world.

In April, developers unveiled plans for the $2 billion Fields West mixed-use development in Fields on 180 acres along the Dallas North Tollway. It will be three times the size of the popular Legacy West development in Plano.

Another commercial district, North Fields, is planned to include offices, retail, commercial space and high-density housing.

“I have total belief [Fields] is going to be second-to-none, it’s going to be an outstanding master-planned community,” Landon said. “You see what Legacy West was and you see what Fields could be.”

Also in anticipation of the new PGA headquarters, Dallas-based Stillwater Capital won approvals in 2021 to begin The Link, a $1 billion, 240-acre project east of the Omni Resort. Plans include office, retail, luxury residential, entertainment, a boutique hotel and sports wellness uses.

In addition to the much anticipated development in Frisco, Landon Homes builds communities in cities throughout North Texas, including Argyle, Flower Mound and Rowlett.

In 2020, Plano-based Landon Development acquired 637 acres of Frisco’s Brinkmann Ranch, a more than 5,000-acre property at Preston Road and Main Street. Construction began in 2021 at the site on the west side of Coit Road called Lexington Park. It is slated to be a $1 billion investment with thousands of homes and apartments.