Jerry Jones’ Blue Star Wades into Waxahachie with Industrial Plans

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has his sights set south of Dallas.

After making a bold land grab in Waxahachie two years ago, Jerry Jones’ investment and development firm Blue Star Land is starting construction on an industrial center at the 120-acre site. The 638,000 square foot warehouse will be built just off the intersection of Interstate 35E and Highway 287, across from the Waxahachie Civic Center.

The build will cost $29 million, or about $45 per square foot, to build and is scheduled to start this August and last until next summer, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The warehouse will likely serve as an e-commerce fulfillment center for sports merchandise company Fanatics, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. The warehouse will create nearly 250 jobs, according to the outlet.

This is the first step in what will be Blue Star Land’s first significant mixed-use project south of Dallas. Jones’ firm plans to develop the 120 acres in partnership with Lincoln Property Company. Their plans include a 70-acre business park with residential, industrial, retail and commercial buildings.

Blue Star Land is best known for the Dallas Cowboys’ $1.5 billion Star development in Frisco but has been busy with investment and development projects across Dallas-Fort Worth. The company is entrenched north of Dallas in Prosper with the 500-acre Gates of Prosper project, which will be the largest mixed-use development in the suburb. The firm is also planning 500 apartments, retail and a park at another Prosper site.

Blue Star has been active in the industrial market as well. The firm sold off three industrial properties at the Star Business Park late last year to Lincoln Property Company, and it has other warehouse developments planned across Collin and Denton counties.

Waxahachie is the seat of Ellis County and is located about 30 miles south of Dallas. The city has been popular for developers in recent years as the northern Dallas market becomes saturated. Waxahachie has doubled its population to over 43,000 in the past two decades and issued more than 1,000 building permits for homes last year, according to the city’s Economic Development Department.

Popular Texas grocery chain H-E-B is also expanding its Waxahachie store by 127,000 square feet with renovations set to complete next year.