Mesquite, located at the eastern gateway to Dallas County, was slow to join the Dallas-Fort Worth building boom, but it’s making up for lost time now. The city’s not only undergoing its biggest boom in residential construction since the 1980s, the City Council recently approved a $250 million medical mixed-use development that will include a hospital, helipad, health-related offices, fitness center, retail, and lofts.

The future Verde Center at Peachtree will be located near South Mesquite Creek between Gross and Peachtree Roads off Interstate 635. Construction is slated to begin in mid-2019.         

According to the Dallas Business Journal, the 60-acre campus is designed as a walkable village that will link healing gardens and trails along the creek to a hotel and conference center as well as a senior living community.

The Verde Center at Peachtree is being developed through a public-private venture between Richardson-based Medical Campus Group, Dallas’ Lang and Company, Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc., and Peachtree Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to “implement otherwise unavailable options that improve the Mesquite community,” according to Dallas News. And via tax increment financing in The Verde Center at Peachtree District, the City of Mesquite, and State of Texas are providing financial incentives to stimulate the economic development. In turn, the 600,000-square foot development is expected to add $156 million in taxable value to the city.

“The growing demand for convenient and high-quality health care alternatives in Mesquite and the East D-FW Metroplex make the Verde Center at Peachtree important and viable for a variety of health care providers,” Rich Couturier, vice president of development for Ryan Cos., told the Dallas Business Journal. “There are few markets in North Texas that have such a direct need for this type of medical and health and wellness campus.”

Because of Mesquite’s massive freeway network, which includes Interstates 635, 30, and 20 as well as U.S. Highway 80, around 700,000 people live within a 30-minute drive of the development. Per a recently conducted feasibility study, around 80 percent of those people seek medical attention outside their respective cities.

Mesquite already has one hospital, two cancer centers, and a medical workforce of 2,188 healthcare workers, and The Verde Center at Peachtree is projected to add another 1,800 health-related jobs.

In a statement, Jim Ray—president of the Medical Campus Group—said, “By attracting the best possible healthcare professionals, cost-effective wellness and health care services, and localizing availability, we believe The Verde Center at Peachtree will have a positive lasting impact on the residents of Mesquite and surrounding areas.”

Mesquite Championship Rodeo photo by Shutterstock

Meet Mesquite

Though Mesquite is a mid-sized city with a population of 145,000 residents, its hometown vibe in the fourth largest metro area in the U.S. is part of the suburb’s appeal. While Mesquite has global name identification as being home to the world-famous Mesquite Championship Rodeo, it also houses a thriving performing arts community that includes the state-of-the-art Mesquite Arts Center, theater groups, and the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra.

Other quality of life components include Mesquite Airport, 76 parks and trails, three restaurant rows, the vast Town East Mall and plenty of ways to meet neighbors and play an active role in the community.

SmartAsset, an online provider of mortgage services, recently named Mesquite the healthiest housing market in Texas and No. 2 in the United States. Though affordable homes are in hot demand and short supply throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, Mesquite typically has an abundance of preowned homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 price range, but they usually sell within two weeks.

Between Hagan Hills off Interstate 20 and the Ridge Ranch master planned development at Cartwright and Lawson Roads, Bloomfield Homes just announced 900 new single-family home starts in a broad mix of sizes and price points. While Mesquite’s housing market is ideal for a wide swath of buyers, Mesquite residents who want to remain in the city are often the top prospects. 

"We have found many existing homeowners are moving to Hagan Hills as well as new residents being attracted to the location," Cliff Keheley, Mesquite City Manager, told the Dallas Morning News. "We expect the same for Ridge Ranch."