The details
Armstrong Hills, named after the family who has owned the land since the Civil War, is a 49-acre parcel of land located at 8740 Davis Boulevard. The developer, Holmes Builders, will develop 49 residential lots along with several tracts of green space that “works with the land to preserve the trees and maintain the natural topography, as well as providing a diverse and interesting layout,” according to the developer documents.
The developer documents state homes in Armstrong Hills would be at least 3,000 square feet and start at a price tag of $2.4 million.
Holmes Builders would build 75% of the homes in the development, according to its documents. The company has been a custom home builder in DFW for more than 40 years and has built several communities similar to Armstrong Farms in the area, most notably Stony Brook, a 47-lot community in Southlake.
A closer look
The project first came before council April 1 and again April 15, May 20 and finally during the June 3 meeting, when it was finally approved. At the April 1 meeting, the developer asked to change a city ordinance lowering the required 36,000-square-foot lots to 25,000-square-foot lots as part of its request. Two of the seven council members, Tag Green and Chris Whatley, voted against it at that meeting.
Several neighbors also opposed the project leading up to the April 1 council meeting. According to city documents, nearly one third of the 59 property owners within 300 feet of the tract opposed a zoning change to allow the development.
With opposition at 30.9%, a supermajority of six out of seven votes on the council would have been needed to change the zoning, city documents stated.
Several of those property owners who sent in opposition letters to members of City Council voicing their concerns said the development would bring negative effects, including:
- Increased traffic on Davis Boulevard
- Drainage issues
- Possible harm to wildlife
- Light pollution
Developer documents state a deceleration lane will be added to the project along Davis Boulevard to help mitigate traffic concerns. Stormwater detention areas will also be installed to address drainage concerns.
Other changes to make the development more environmentally friendly include:
- Implementation of internal dropped grade beams instead of retaining walls to protect existing trees and natural land contours
- Modifying lot sizes to save trees near the entry to the neighborhood
What they’re saying
Mayor Armin Mizani recognized that Keller doesn’t have many parcels of open space left for large housing developments and that projects that will be developed on smaller parcels of land must be given much consideration.
“There’s just not a lot of land to develop [in Keller now]; for me, it’s an emphasis on quality development, and I think this is a quality project,” he said. “I’m proud to support it.”
Place 2 council man Greg Will echoed Mizani’s comments that this development will be “the nicest one in Keller” when it's finished. He praised the developer for working with neighbors, the city and other stakeholders.
“You are the exact type of builder we want to have come to Keller, somebody who takes into consideration the concerns of the community and wants to be a partner,” Will said. “I really appreciate that philosophy.”
