New upscale housing approved for Southlake Town Square includes homes similar to the Brownstones and Garden District residences already there, along with condominiums that could be leased if they are not all sold.

City Council members said they were deluged with emails opposing the condos for least, called The Residences, in the days leading up to the Nov. 19 approval. Residents also started a Facebook page opposing that portion of the proposal and said they gathered more than 1,000 electronic signatures on a petition.

In the end, the council assuaged most of the fears by requiring Cooper & Stebbins to sell half the condos before applying for a building permit.

The concern was that the units in The Residences, which will be for sale and also could lease for $3,000-$5,000 a month, would be like high-density apartments.

"They are homes, they are for sale, and they are the quality that belongs in Southlake," developer Frank Bliss of Cooper & Stebbins told the council. He originally submitted the proposal in September, and returned to address concerns the council had about parking, density and other issues.

The number of units in The Residences dropped from 40 to 38 under the amended plans.

Owners of the Brownstones—three-story homes already built at Town Square—spoke in favor of The Residences, which will block a parking garage from their view.

While some residents still argued vehemently against the plans after the 50 percent presale figure was discussed, others who originally came to protest said they would be satisfied with that figure.

Bliss and Larry Corson, also of Cooper & Stebbins initially had offered to sell 25 percent of The Residences before applying for a building permit.

The overall proposal approved also includes as many as 60 condominiums for sale in three four-story buildings called the Garden District Residences, a new park and a dog park.

"We got a cross-section of the voting public to show up and have a conversation," Bliss said after the approval. "That is what democracy is all about."

He said construction should be underway by March of next year.