East DFW News

DALLAS – A shared vision between the public and private sectors helped make AllianceTexas home for 525 companies with 61,000 employees.

Another 800 acres of land in 2019 makes AllianceTexas about 50% developed. It already has more than 50 million square feet of development completed.

Dallas-based Hillwood, an industrial, commercial and residential real estate developer, leads the 26,000-acre development. It began in 1989 with Alliance Airport. Hillwood President Mike Berry said a collaborative relationship on the public and private sides made it a success.

The addition of $10.5 billion in capital investment by the end of 2019 reported in the AllianceTexas 2019 Economic Impact Report supports the growth.

BNSF Railway, Amazon, FedEx and other industry leaders offer key partnerships to make AllianceTexas a testbed for new technologies.

“We have tried to go to the next level with our strategy,” Berry told Community Impact Newspaper. “We’re all about transportation and mobility, and everything we do at Alliance extends across the region.”

The approach Hillwood took to establish vital infrastructure such as utilities and transmission lines on land that might not get developed for years shows commitment to a long-term vision, Hillwood Executive Vice President Bill Burton told Community Impact Newspaper.

“You’re going to see development velocity continue to increase,” Burton said.

Growth at AllianceTexas has already reached a breakneck pace. Since 2019, the development more than doubled its lifetime economic impact.

“For the better part of 15 years, nothing happened here. Now, it’s like ‘Wow!’,” Jackie Pierce, owner of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More at Alliance Town Center, told Community Impact Newspaper.

An Amazon E-Fulfillment center and a Facebook data center ramped up the economic impact of AllianceTexas on the region. The addition of an Amazon Air regional hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Charles Schwab headquarters anchoring the Front 44 development at Circle T Ranch, and a Mercedes-Benz business operations center near Interstate 35 West continued the growth, Burton said.

He said the addition of these workers has an impact on hotels, restaurants and shops.

“It has a significant impact beyond just the borders of our property,” Burton said.

Roanoke City Manager Scott Campbell said success for AllianceTexas helps his city.

The borders of AllianceTexas touch six cities, two counties and four school districts. It spurs residential and school growth in the neighboring communities and helps fund the schools, cities and counties, having paid more than $2.3 billion in property taxes over the years. Since 1989, the economic impact surpassed $83 billion.

“When we started, you had virtually no business and industry in Northeast Tarrant County," Burnet said. "Now, you have the commercial base, and as people come, you need the amenities."

But the growth goes beyond the amenities and community support. The partnership Hillwood has with AllianceTexas-based companies including Bell, BNSF, Uber, AT&T, Verizon and others led to the creation a year ago of a Mobility Innovation Zone. Companies get encouragement to develop emerging technologies such as 5G infrastructure, an air taxi service, and autonomous lift vehicles.

“I remember when we didn’t have cell phones," Burton said. "Things have come a long way, and more is coming, and we need to be prepared."