The Realm consists of a mix of apartments, offices, restaurants and retail shops, which began to open in 2019.
In late 2019, The Realm first opened an office building and 15,000 square feet of restaurant space. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic starting in early 2020, The Realm was not quick to lease many of these spaces, said Lucas Patterson, executive vice president for Bright Realty.
Regardless of this slow start to the destination, The Realm has recently begun to expand.
“We’ve really seen an uptick in activity since the pandemic has started to recede,” Patterson said. “Over the last six to nine months, we have seen an increase in leasing activity.”
The open and coming soon amenities at The Realm are results of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects. The budget for these two phases was about $150 million, Patterson said.
The construction of new buildings for phases 1 and 2 has been completed, and The Realm management is in the process of renting these spaces to tenants. Spaces that have already been rented out are either now open or will be opening in the coming months.
Some of these recently opened and coming soon dining and retail spaces include Salubrious Juice & More, El Patio, The London Baker, Castle Hills Animal Hospital, Cool Heads, Salon Bellus, Wild Fork, Worth the Pour, Grimaldi’s, Little India, Cheeky Monkeys, Saray Mediterranean Fusion Grill and Bar, Bahama Bucks, Mochinut, Food Morning, Cachet and Hotworx, according the The Realm website.
Phase 3 is now underway at The Realm. Phase 3 is not yet built, but it will “most likely include around 300 multifamily units over retail,” Patterson said. There is no budget for Phase 3.
Officials hope to also add phases 4 and 5 in the future, according to Patterson. However, there are no existing plans, budget estimates or timelines for these phases. Patterson said they have the room to add a fourth and fifth phase, so they will eventually look into doing so.
The goal of the expansions at The Realm is to create a mixed-use destination of office space, multifamily apartments, retail and restaurants.
“We are hoping to create a jewel for Lewisville, a jewel for Castle Hills,” Patterson said. “I think ownership has always envisioned—once all those homes of Castle Hills were in place—creating a really nice commercial destination, and we believe that’s what we’re doing here at The Realm.”
Editor’s note: The original post has been edited to correct an error. The Realm at Castle Hills has several buildings.
