Russell Glen To Bring Aspirational Community To Long-Overlooked Southern Dallas

Russell Glen Co. CEO Terrence Maiden grew up in Southern Dallas, a part of the city he said has long been defined more by perception than investment. 

After helping redevelop The Shops at RedBird from a dying 1970s-era mall into a thriving medical hub for the community, he set out to find the area’s “next big idea.”

That search led to the Rivulet project, a 90-acre master-planned community that Russell Glen plans to break ground on at the northwest corner of University Hills Boulevard and Camp Wisdom Road later this year. 

The development will offer around 300 single-family homes, hundreds of multifamily units and a 20-acre retail district. Maiden intends Rivulet to help bolster the community's reputation and add missing infrastructure and amenities, new office space and a neighborhood grocer for an area that has been labeled a food desert.

“Where RedBird is a transformational redevelopment, Rivulet is a master-planned community where you actually provide quality living for the community,” Maiden told Bisnow. “So a different approach, but the same level of impact.”

The project aims to be a shot in the arm for an area that has seen more progress in its industrial sector than any other during the last half-decade. 

Since 2020, nearly 50M SF of industrial space has been added to the submarket, according to Colliers. Southern Dallas’ office market has remained virtually unchanged since at least 2022, while its multifamily market has grown over that same period by around 5%, according to Colliers’ fourth-quarter reports.

Families often overlook Southern Dallas because of questions about safety and its school systems, according to Maiden. However, the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Independent School District are working to address those perceptions.

DPD's Violent Crime Reduction Plan, which launched in 2021, cut violent crime in its South Central Division by nearly 37% by 2024, according to WFAA. And Dallas ISD's school accountability ratings from the Texas Education Agency improved dramatically last year, with WFAA reporting all Southern Dallas campuses achieved a B grade.

The master-planned community’s housing and amenities are designed to entice new residents to an area that has emerged as the community’s education corridor. Maiden envisions Rivulet residents attending the state’s oldest historically Black college, Paul Quinn College, the University of North Texas at Dallas and Dallas ISD schools, such as the Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy on the university’s campus. 

Community Vision

Russell Glen acquired the Rivulet site in 2022 from the late civic leader and former Dallas Cowboys tight end Pettis Norman. Maiden said he met Norman around 2018 and the pair developed a “kindred relationship.”

Norman had owned the 90-acre site since the mid-1970s. As he reached his 80s, Norman shared with Maiden his vision for the kind of impactful community project that could be built at the site. 

“He wanted to find someone who could take the baton and do something meaningful,” Maiden said. “So I was really fortunate that he and I had an opportunity to meet and that he would trust me with his investment that he made for the community so long ago.”

Russell Glen has been methodical in designing Rivulet to resonate with Norman’s vision to uplift the character and identity of Southern Dallas, Maiden said. He wants the commercial portion of the development to feel like Austin, with abundant green spaces and trails as well as a public library, office space and a community innovation center.

But it is the potential grocery store that is most desired in Southern Dallas, which lacks the number of supermarket options available in much of the rest of the city. 

A planned 50K SF Tom Thumb store at The Shops at RedBird property fell through in late 2024 when the parent company, Albertsons Cos., backed out of the deal and terminated its economic development incentive agreement with the city.

Securing a grocery store for the community is a high priority for Maiden. He said Rivulet's proximity to UNT Dallas and the $1B University Hills mixed-use project also being built near the university should make the corridor more attractive to grocers. 

Without homes in development and the prospect of new shoppers coming to Southern Dallas, Maiden said grocers have long bypassed the area. Instead, they prefer booming suburbs like Celina, where the companies believe new store construction is a safer economic bet.

“It's about setting things up that breed a lot of confidence in their ability to be successful there,” Maiden said. “If we can continue to do that as a development company, then it improves our likelihood.”

Outside Support

The project has also drawn support from city leaders and outside investors. 

Southern Dallas’ lack of infrastructure has long been a barrier for development, so a $23.5M economic development grant approved by the Dallas City Council in November was a major win for the project, Maiden said. The grant will fund infrastructure improvements needed for the Rivulet development.

Among outside investors is Civitas Capital Group CEO Dan Healy, who said the project could bring further development to Southern Dallas.

“It has the opportunity to be a catalyst for renaissance for the entire area,” Healy told Bisnow in an email. 

Russell Glen partnered with Republic Property Group to manage infrastructure construction and support the project.

Rivulet has also won support from UNT Dallas. University President Warren von Eschenbach said the development’s mix of housing, businesses and open space will elevate the community.

“The Rivulet project will provide much-needed new housing and businesses for university employees and students alike,” von Eschenbach told Bisnow in an email. “The development symbolizes the growth of southern Dallas, and we look forward to collaborating with Terrence Maiden on this project.”

Looking Ahead

Maiden said Russell Glen is in the midst of finishing up the project’s capital stack. The company has a lender in place that is excited about the opportunity to work together, and Republic Property Group has helped get the team in front of a variety of homebuilders.

The project has two homebuilders lined up, but Maiden said he could only disclose that LGI Homes will be one of them. 

If development continues as projected, Maiden said the company is targeting a late summer or early fall groundbreaking.

Dallas City Council Member Zarin D. Gracey said the Rivulet development is proof that this corridor of the city is “on the rise.”

“Rivulet will transform this corner of Southern Dallas with housing options for every stage of life, a vibrant retail district with the amenities our community deserves, and trails that connect us to the greater city,” Gracey told Bisnow in an email. “This is the kind of bold, community-centered investment District 3 has been waiting for, and I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead.”