This North Texas city is prioritizing mixed-use, multifamily and lot variety in future development
Mar 23, 2022, 4:03pm CDT
M3 RANCH
M3 Ranch, a Hanover 900-acre master-planned community in Mansfield will eventually be home to 1,600 homes and will have residential, commercial and multifamily land available.
Some might consider Mansfield a rural community, but as more residents move in and the question of density comes up, the city’s residential priorities have begun to mirror those in an urban core.
Going forward, Mansfield is seeking residential plays that host a variety of lot sizes, emphasizing purposeful neighborhood design. The city also encourages developers to propose mixed-use projects that feature walkability and multifamily development.
“Our housing goal is simply to have a diverse array of options for people who want to live here,” said Joe Smolinski, city manager of Mansfield.
There is currently somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 approved lots under development in Mansfield. The city has what could be considered larger lot requirements, with underlying residential zoning requiring 12,000-square-foot lots.
Smolinski said developers come in wanting to build with more density. The city will consider density concessions with smaller lots so long as the development quality is above what is normally required. This can mean nicer landscaping, an attractive entry feature and open space in a given project.
“People say, ‘Oh, Mansfield is a rural community, we want to keep it that way,'” he said. “The day we put water and sewer in the ground, that ceased to be a rural community.”
Employers will drive how much workforce housing the city wants to see in the area. Currently, over 90% of the city’s inhabitants who have a job now travel outside Mansfield to go to work. The vast majority of jobs available in Mansfield are filled by people who live outside the city. The average new home in Mansfield costs above $700,000, he said.
There’s a healthy manufacturing sector in the city. These residents need a place to live, he said, which is why residential development must provide an array of options for Mansfield’s workforce that are affordable but do not rely too heavily on city resources.
“That ties back to density,” Smolinski said. “You need to make density concessions, make sure new developments are good quality and have various housing options.”
The city is also encouraging multifamily development. Smolinski said there’s a stigma surrounding multifamily development, but statistically, those stigmas don’t bear out, and it’s the most potent property tax-generating land usage.
“We’ve been trying to communicate to the public what the value of those things are and how the misconceptions are not accurate,” he said.
Mansfield will also consider smaller lot developments like townhomes or row homes, which can have 20-foot or similar sized lots. Despite the narrow lot sizes, those properties are valued at around $350,000 to $400,000 in the Mansfield market.
Ideally, developments will have different housing types, including single-family and multifamily, with ground-floor retail and employment centers.
“I think that leads to healthier outcomes, to live in a walkable community,” Smolinski said. “So, long story short, we’re encouraging different lot sizes, different housing types.”
Spencer Brewer
Staff Writer
Dallas Business Journal