Client:
- Lillian Homes
Location:
- Denton County, TX
George Salvador of Lillian Homes, a Texas-born homebuilder, has served the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2008. This family focused builder has seen success through their strong team and partnerships, allowing them to expand their reach into growing communities across North Texas.
Lillian Homes is committed to building energy efficient, custom homes that reflect both detailed craftsmanship and modern convenience. It has been a pleasure working with Mahendra Kandepu and George Salvador on various projects in Kaufman, Waxahachie, and Denton County.
Background
T. Wilson caught wind of the Village Estates development during a meeting with George and Mahendra on a different project. We immediately knew our experience in Denton County would allow us to provide significant value here. The project—consisting of 121 one-acre residential lots—was well received by the Denton County Commissioners. By utilizing our expertise and relationships in Denton County, we created a mechanism to provide an estimated $6.6 million in PID bonds set to aid in offsetting approximately $4.4 million in public infrastructure costs.
Project Challenges
Due to its smaller economies of scale, Village Estates presented distinct challenges compared to other County-level projects. In a city-created PID, the city infrastrucure is typically dedicated to the city and/or retail water and sewer provider, as applicable. This dedication of infrastrucure to a public entity demonstrates public benefit and ultimately determines what will be reimbursed with PID proceeds. For larger-scale County PIDs, we have opted to create an underlying taxing district to own and maintain improvements where the water/sewer provider could not, because the counties typically do not have the capacity to take on considerable additional maintenance requirements at once. In the case of Village Estates, the costs to create an underlying taxing district were too expensive to be absorbed by the project without placing too high a financial strain on our client.
To address this, we worked directly with Denton County, who agreed to own and maintain the roadway improvements, provided they met certain construction standards, as well as publicly bid the improvements.
These elements involved unique coordination with the County and demonstrated our ability to adapt our approach to fit the specific governance and operational environment of the project.
Project Challenges
Due to its smaller economies of scale, Village Estates presented distinct challenges compared to other County-level projects. In a city-created PID, the city infrastrucure is typically dedicated to the city and/or retail water and sewer provider, as applicable. This dedication of infrastrucure to a public entity demonstrates public benefit and ultimately determines what will be reimbursed with PID proceeds. For larger-scale County PIDs, we have opted to create an underlying taxing district to own and maintain improvements where the water/sewer provider could not, because the counties typically do not have the capacity to take on considerable additional maintenance requirements at once. In the case of Village Estates, the costs to create an underlying taxing district were too expensive to be absorbed by the project without placing too high a financial strain on our client.
To address this, we worked directly with Denton County, who agreed to own and maintain the roadway improvements, provided they met certain construction standards, as well as publicly bid the improvements.
These elements involved unique coordination with the County and demonstrated our ability to adapt our approach to fit the specific governance and operational environment of the project.
Unique Collaboration
Another key component of this effort is our collaboration with the County on its fire protection initiative Denton County Emergency Response Area Fire & EMS Master Plan. Denton County places a high priority on ensuring that all new development has access to reliable fire protection resources – and the uniqueness of the Village Estates PID required a different strategy to ensure that the district could participate in the program, providing access to Fire Protection and EMS Services. We are currently working with the County to create an Operations & Maintenance (O&M) PID in addition to the Capital PID. The O&M PID enables the County to levy assessments that will provide sustainable funding to support the County’s fire program.
This is one of three Denton County PIDs participating in Denton County’s innovative Fire Program, and we are proud to assist the County in delivering a project that not only supports strategic development but also enhances community safety.
A Special Thanks
We are deeply grateful to Judge Andy Eads, Commissioner Dianne Edmondson, and County Administrator Jody Gonzales and the remarkable council and team of professionals. Their skill, dedication, and insight have been essential in guiding this project from concept to completion