Rockhill Capital buys into Anna, one of DFW's growth hot spots
ANNA, Texas — This was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original here.
A North Texas real estate developer has secured 116 acres in Collin County, one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation, for residential and commercial development.
Frisco-based Rockhill Capital & Investments LLC acquired the land in mid-September and has already sold 82 of the 116 acres to homebuilder Taylor Morrison. An additional 9.5 acres along State Highway 5 is under contract with a commercial developer, and negotiations are ongoing with another party for the remaining 24 acres, which is zoned for multifamily use, according to a Nov. 18 announcement.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Construction on the 325-lot development is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025, Rockhill Chief Development Officer Brent Libby said in a statement.
The tract is located in Anna at County Road 371 and State Highway 5, about 2 miles east of the busy U.S. Highway 75 corridor.
Younger Partners Executive Managing Director John St. Clair, Vice President Tyler Hemenway and Davis Willoughby represented the seller, the Cox family, in the transaction.
"The Cox tract is essentially infill on the east side of Anna, and we were able to secure a great entitlement package, which included single-family, multifamily and commercial zoning," Libby said in a statement.
The Cox family, which had owned the land for decades, decided to sell to secure their investment before market conditions changed, St. Clair said. Although they had received offers in the past, Rockhill's ability to establish a public improvement district for the single-family portion of the tract helped finalize the deal, according to brokers.
This transaction expands Rockhill's land holdings across high-growth North Texas cities. Its portfolio also includes land in Howe, Van Alstyne and Sherman.
In 2022, the firm partnered with Covenant Development to launch a 440-acre mixed-use community in Sherman, which will feature 750 homes upon completion. Rockhill is also advancing residential projects in Celina, where it is developing a 78-home community in collaboration with builder Olivia Clarke Homes .
"We'll continue to source and acquire land in the area where we can add value through entitlements, and either develop the property or hold it for some time and exit to another developer or end user," Libby said.
With North Texas' population surging, developers and investors are racing to secure prime land before it's gone. The average price for rural land in this part of the state was about $8,200 per acre in the second quarter, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M. But prices are likely much higher in hot places like northern Collin County — the Texas Real Estate Research Center report includes DFW in a much wider region called Northeast Texas that stretches east to the Louisiana border and down to Nacogdoches County.
Anna's population grew an estimated 17% from July 2022 to July 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, which ranked No. 4 in the country for places with at least 20,000 people. In recent years, the city has seen a surge in building permits issued and is quickly becoming home to massive neighborhoods like the 700-home Coyote Meadows near U.S. 75 and State Highway 121.
The region, much like many other cities within Collin County, has benefited from strong schools, family-friendly amenities and a lot of road investment. Projects such as the Collin County Outer Loop are currently playing a key role in transforming these once-rural communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area into vibrant business and residential hubs.
