Tellus Group Project Nabs First Continental's Largest Loan Ever
A Plano-based investment firm is doing its part to solve North Texas' housing shortage.
Less than two weeks after announcing plans to build a 3,000-home master-planned community in Anna, Tellus Group is at it again with Meraki, a 2,700-home community coming to Forney.
Houston-based lender First Continental closed on a $45M loan to fund the project, which will be on nearly 1,100 acres just north of Highway 80 on the east side of the Metroplex.
In addition to the huge residential component, the multiphase project will feature an elementary school, several amenity centers and more than 300 acres of open space with large lakes that can accommodate water recreation. The first phase of Meraki’s development is expected to be finished later this year, delivering 406 homes, The Real Deal reported. The full project is slated to be done by 2035.
The deal is the largest loan in First Continental’s history and the first time the firm has worked with Tellus Group.
“By partnering with First Continental, we were able to secure the necessary funding for the project and have the opportunity to bring a new, innovative housing development to one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities,” Tellus Group Chief Operating Officer Andre Ferrari said in a statement.
Forney was one of five North Texas cities among the 10 fastest-growing cities in the country, according to data released by the Census Bureau last year. Homebuilding efforts in North Texas have struggled to keep up with population growth in the region, creating a housing shortage, according to data from the state comptroller’s office.
Anna, Prosper and Celina were also among the 10 fastest-growing cities, and Tellus Group has projects in each of them.
Anna is where Tellus Group closed on 970 acres for the first phase of the $1.5B Sherley Farms project earlier this month. The master-planned community, which is slated to include 3,000 homes just east of Highway 5, will offer expansive green spaces and a 65-acre working organic farm as a cornerstone of the development.
The firm is also wrapping up work on the Windsong Ranch development in Prosper, which has 3,000 residential lots, and it will deliver 1,700 lots in the Mosaic development in Celina.
Forney's population growth, rising 60% between 2010 and 2020, helped spur a raft of commercial development in Kaufman County. One of the highest-profile developments in the county is the 140K SF H-E-B store being built in Forney. That store was among DFW's three biggest retail leases of 2024.
