Experts say the number of homes being built in the district will make it one of the highest populated in Region 11, an area covering 10 counties in North Texas.
“[NISD] will continue to be the fastest-growing school district in Region 11 for the foreseeable future,” Templeton said.
New developments like Hillwood Communities’ Treeline neighborhood aim to accommodate that growth. The neighborhood, located in Justin, broke ground in 2023 and is expected to deliver an additional 2,700 homes within the NISD area.
The new homes will join 6,000 homes already built by Hillwood in the NISD area, said Diana Carroll, marketing director for the company’s Dallas-Fort Worth division.
Zooming in
In the northeast portion of NISD, specifically in the Cox, Beck and Daniel elementary school zones, five new subdivisions have been completed or are in the works that have added nearly 5,000 new homes to this area alone in recent years.
NISD serves a portion of Roanoke, which has also seen increased growth. Residential growth in the area has been driven by jobs and the AllianceTexas corridor, Roanoke Mayor Scooter Gierisch said. He estimated there were close to 8,000 jobs in Roanoke itself and more in the surrounding area.
“Those folks have to live somewhere, and so a lot of folks from those companies locate in and around Roanoke,” he said. “But it’s not just those two areas.”
Growth is occurring across NISD, which serves more than 31,000 students across 14 communities. As the growth continues, NISD’s demographers are able to forecast it and pinpoint where more schools are needed, Gierisch said.
Put in perspective
About 40% of Roanoke’s land is residential real estate, while the other 60% is made up of industrial and commercial developments, Gierisch said.
“That’s all part of a great mix of what Roanoke has, along with Northwest ISD,” Gierisch said. “You kind of got the best of both worlds, and then you add the AllianceTexas corridor that [has] helped create many jobs.”
Carroll said Hillwood Communities’ role is to fulfill housing needs spurred by economic growth in the region. The development company has been in the AllianceTexas corridor since 1988 and has built seven communities with 16,000 homes in and around the area.
“Most of our buyers fall into a category that you might call a move-up buyer: they’re typically married, they’re typically a family,” Carroll said.
NISD Superintendent Mark Foust said district officials collaborate with dozens of developers and homebuilders to plan ahead of growth, which helps new communities attract families.
“Our location along the I-35 corridor provides families with shopping and dining, and a wide collection of family-friendly activities,” Foust said.
District projections estimate the student population to grow by more than 16% over the next five years.Zooming out
Alan Blaylock, District 10 Fort Worth City Council member, said residential growth is driven by access to quality education in NISD and Keller ISD.
NISD must continually plan for more growth across the district, Foust said.
“It’s truly a collective effort between our community, our school district and our partners to prepare for the consistent growth we see each year,” he said.
