The road to River Ranch

It was a big day for River Ranch Holdings LLC on Tuesday as developers of the new River Ranch subdivision on Dayton’s southside began pouring cement on the main thoroughfare off of HWY 146. River Ranch Boulevard will span the entire project and eventually come out on FM 1409.

To mark the occasion, developer Eddie Gray was on hand at the Dayton ISD Board of Trustees meeting to give an update on the most significant development project in the area.

The project, which initially broke ground in 2019, did some stalling out during the COVID19 pandemic. Still, Gray was excited to say it gave them time to improve on aspects of the project, bringing in what they feel is a better engineering firm in LJA Engineering and allowing them to secure some better backing financially.

Those in attendance were shown renderings of the new entrance signage and plans for the initial phases of development, which included a new elementary campus for students in that area.

“We want to work with Dayton ISD,” said Gray. The projections currently are for approximately 800 new homes to be completed by 2026, which is just a fraction of what has been proposed, as it will have approximately 14,000 dwellings once completed. The developers would like to see as many as 250 homes a year completed, but they use a more conservative figure, as the market is not always predictable.

Several home builders are already on board once the lots are ready, which Gray hopes those properties are prepared for builders in Spring 2022. First American and DR Horton Homes are just a couple of those builders.

Crews were able to put in the first 1,000 feet of roadway by the end of the day. “We think we are on the right track and the road to success,” concluded Gray.