Chisholm Trail Parkway Emerging as Fort Worth Development Nexus

Fort Worth’s recent growth is no secret.

The city added more people than any other major American metro last year, and it has a $2.3 billion development pipeline to boot. Amid all that growth, a toll road has become a nexus of new development, connecting downtown Fort Worth to the southern suburbs and filling in the space with housing on the way.

The Chisholm Trail Parkway runs 28 miles south from Fort Worth to Cleburne. While the idea for an alternate route out to the suburbs has been kicked around Fort Worth’s infrastructure circles for decades, work on the toll road began in 2008. It opened all at once in 2014.

Commuters in Dallas and Austin often gripe about traffic on Interstate 35, and as Fort Worth has grown, it has fallen victim to that congestion, too. The toll road was built to ease traffic on the highway, and largely runs parallel to I-35. The project cost $1.4 billion.

In return, the city has not just received a road. More than 3,200 multifamily units are in the pipeline along the upper part of Chisholm Trail Parkway, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of Berkadia data.

The largest project in the pipeline is Jefferson Primrose Station, a 401-unit development with apartments and single-family rental homes. Developed by JPI Multifamily, the project, at 7800 to 8000 Chisholm Trail Parkway, is already under construction and slated to wrap in July 2025.

Irving-based JPI has built more than 40,000 units in Dallas-Fort Worth. The firm is led by Payton Mayes, a Merrill Lynch and D.R. Horton alum. Elsewhere in Fort Worth, it is building Jefferson Ridgelea Village, another 400-unit residential project.

Other major projects include The Dylan II at 7424 Granbury Road, the next phase of ArchCo Residential’s urban-style residential project just off the toll road. The second phase will bring 375 garden apartments across 350,000 square feet. The project’s first phase is a Spanish Mission-style development with ground-floor retail below 227 apartments. It opened in 2020.

Five of the projects are already under construction, with another six in planning. They average 293 units. There is plenty of room for more. Multiple large tracts of land and development sites are up for sale in the area. While lending has ground to a halt on new multifamily projects in many Texas metros, these parcels figure to hold value as Fort Worth grows.

The projects reflect the road they’re being built along, incorporating elements of contemporary urban design, like storefronts and walkability, previewing a dense future for a solidly suburban neighborhood.