Craver Ranch could have 9,000 homes near Ray Roberts Lake, city meeting planned Dec. 2

A developer is preparing to turn a large ranch just east of Sanger near Lake Ray Roberts into a large master-planned community worth billions.

Old Prosper Partners LLC has been working with the City of Denton to prepare the 2,870-acre Craver Ranch, which city officials estimate will become a $5.1 billion development. Over the course of 17 years, the developer plans to have 7,091 homes, 584 townhomes, 1,515 apartments, 1.2 million square feet of commercial space, three schools and $462 million of infrastructure, according to an Oct. 21 presentation to the Denton City Council. 

The city annexed the land back in 2008 and 2009 and recently approved the creation of a municipal management district in March if a development agreement is signed with the developer. A municipal management district is a political subdivision of the city that can collect property taxes or assessments from property owners within the district. With that structure, the developers would foot the bill for infrastructure at first, but would be reimbursed by bonds issued by the district. Revenue from the assessments of property owners would pay the bonds.

A main component of the development will be parks — about 380 acres will be dedicated to them across the development. That includes a 358-acre "central park" that would run through the development, as well as 13.5 miles of trails and 18.5 miles of shared paths.

If the master-planned community is approved, construction is expected to start in 2028 and continue over the next 17 years for completion in 2045.  The area is located just south of Ray Roberts Lake. The developer’s map of the vicinity also shows the area is near Denton County’s proposed Regional Outer Loop. The Denton County Outer Loop project calls for a six-lane freeway that goes east-west, spanning from I-35 at Milam or Rector Road just south of Sanger,  to the Dallas North Tollway in Collin County.

The community would have two elementary schools and one middle school on-site, although most homes would be zoned for Denton ISD and a smaller percentage in Sanger ISD depending on location. Plans also include 1.2 million square feet of commercial space, space for two fire stations, 13.5 miles of trails and a 358-acre park.

Discussions on the Craver Ranch project will continue at the zoning, comprehensive plan and mobility plan hearings of the City of Denton on Nov. 19. The public is invited to the meeting, which will include a request to for a zoning change from rural residential district to a planned development district and a zoning change from agriculture future land use designation to master planned community future land use.

The project is expected to go before the Denton City Council on Dec. 2.