Ashlar Development is proud to look back on a fantastic year behind and excited for what 2020 and a new decade will bring our amazing residents, team members, and builders.
Our team continuously strives to develop and create communities that go beyond: The Groves, Wildridge, Nichols Vale and Belterra.
Below, we reminisce on some of the fantastic community projects, events and news we have been involved this year.
Community Involvement and Events
We were excited to showcase our amazing lifestyle programming at each of our communities this year, with engaging large-scale public events and ongoing resident activities such as outdoor movie screenings, fitness classes, summer games and more, coordinated by our full-time Lifestyle Directors. Combined, we held hundreds of events for residents and the public to enjoy throughout 2019!
Taste of The Groves kicked off summer at The Groves. More than 650 people enjoyed life in the Naturehood with food trucks, bites and beverages from local restaurants and breweries, live music, a tiny tot area, a bounce house, an obstacle course and more.
At Wildridge, Live Music on the Lawn was the perfect way to celebrate a rockin’ summer. This event brought in an impressive crowd of 500 residents and community members! It featured a live performance of Top 40 hits from local band Forte Entertainment Group, food trucks, brews on tap from Little Elm Crafthouse, a unique VW van photo bus with The Photo Booth DFW, a bounce house and fun for all!
At The Groves, we toasted to the fall season at Harvest Festival. This event hosted more than 1,200 guests and offered many fall-related activities, including a beer garden that served as a mini Oktoberfest and a picturesque pumpkin patch. Additionally, the event featured live music, food trucks, a bounce house, and was part of the monthly Farmer’s Market.
Ashlar in Action: Giving Back
We were honored to recognize Veterans Day at The Groves. Dozens of our own resident veterans attended as we paid tribute to these courageous servicemen and women with live music, a statue dedication and a flag ceremony.
Wildridge’s Annual Home for the Holidays event benefitted Denton County Friends of the Family, an organization dedicated to providing compassionate and supportive services to those impacted by relationship violence and sexual assault. With horse drawn carriages, hot chocolate bar, snow hill for sledding, photo opportunities with Santa and Mrs. Claus, ornament crafting stations, this family-friendly celebrated the holiday spirit while giving back to the local community.
In recognition and support of the many local families recovering and seeking relocation following Tropical Storm Imelda, The Groves offered closing cost assistance on new contracts for new homebuyers. Though The Groves was fortunate to remain afloat during recent major flooding events, we were proud to help community members in need through the storm.
We are gratified that we can continuously give back and create positive impacts in the communities we call home and look forward to continuing these efforts in the new year.
New Amenities, Builders and Growth
In 2019, we were delighted to welcome new members to the Ashlar Development team, including two Lifestyle Directors — Ashlyn McDaniel (Belterra) and Torey Schmorr (Wildridge). In their new roles, they have been integral in promoting engaging lifestyle events, which help bring the community together.
This year, Brad McFarland joined as our Development Manager – Houston and has been actively involved in acquisitions, commercial development management, land planning, amenity conceptualization, and HOA management.
At all Ashlar communities, new and current builders introduced new model homes that provide homebuyers with expanded options including an array of floorplans at varying price points to find their perfect home. Collectively, we’ve seen a home sale increase of 49% and a traffic increase of 69.25% year-over-year from our four communities.
At Wildridge, we added two more esteemed builders to our roster: Pulte Homes and Chesmar Homes. Ashlar is also thrilled to welcome Toll Brothers, an award-winning luxury builder to The Groves. They will open a new, exclusive gated community, Canopy at The Groves in 2020.
What’s Ahead for 2020
As we are welcoming the start of a new decade, Ashlar is looking forward to continuing our commitment to creating and developing vibrant communities.
We can’t wait for the exciting opening of Mini Groves! Opening in spring 2020, this scaled-down park version of the community will feature key elements of The Groves for children to explore and play. Park features will include a toddler adventure playground, a miniature fire tower designed to match the entry to the community, a trike track representing Madera Run Parkway and a small fish camp akin to the life-sized fish camp within the community.
Also coming up in spring 2020, is the grand opening of The Hideaway at Wildridge. This state-of-the-art new amenity center will feature a 3-acre fully stocked fishing pond, 960 square feet covered pavilion for events, and a lower terrace dock overlook.
Canopy at The Groves, the new Toll Brothers’ gated section will open in 2020, featuring a ‘Beer Garden’ type park, called The Yard, exclusive to Canopy at The Groves residents. The Yard will feature festoon lighting, an open lawn, hammocks, a ping-pong table, cornhole boards and Adirondack chairs for residents to enjoy while mingling. The park will also include a mini ‘Root Beer Garden’ seating area for the little residents. Residents within the Toll Brothers community will also enjoy exclusive, quarterly lifestyle events planned solely for them by our Lifestyle Director.
Nichols Vale is excited to welcome a new home builder this year, Ryan Homes. Ryan Homes will introduce single family 60’ size lots to the community with home prices starting in the high $300’s. Their new model is scheduled to be opened by spring of this year.
We will continue to introduce new model homes, builders, amenities and expansions and improvements to our current offerings at all of our communities. Stay tuned for an exciting year ahead!