The Colony, Texas

History

The Colony derives its name from the original Peters Colony. The Peters Colony headquarters was located within the current boundaries of The Colony in the historical community of Stewartsville and the site of the Hedgcoxe War. The Colony is also the site of Bridges Settlement (established during the years of the Republic of Texas and the oldest community in Denton County), Stewarts Creek, Rector, Stoverville and Camey, also known as Camey Spur.

The Colony did not exist before 1973, when home developers Fox and Jacobs (since purchased by Centex) purchased land located around State Highway 121 and Farm to Market Road 423. The name "The Colony" was chosen by Fox and Jacobs because they wanted its new development to share a sense of kinship with Texas' early history and "to create a living monument to the spirit and courage of the Peters Colonists ... those men and women who braved considerable hardships to begin new lives, in new homes, on new land." They planned the development to be a new "dream city" consisting primarily of single-family homes grouped as a "colony" and based on the city of Dallas' infrastructure specifications. In 1973, Fox and Jacobs negotiated an agreement with the city of Frisco to begin construction in its extraterritorial jurisdiction. In 1974, street construction began with many streets being named after early settlers and members of the construction crews. The first model homes were completed in August 1974 and the first families moved into their homes in October that year. The homes were served for water services by The Colony Municipal Utility District formed in 1974, electricity via Texas Power and Light, cable television via Lakeside CATV and telephone service via Southwestern Bell.

In 1977, the homeowners associations' petition to disannex the development from the city of Frisco's extraterritorial jurisdiction was approved. The Colony voted to become an incorporated city in January 1977 and a became a Home Rule City in 1979. Residents of The Colony participated in two polls to select a name for the new city. Both polls chose the name "The Colony" and the name was ratified by the City Council in May 1977. In 1987, The Colony voted to merge with the small lakeside community of Eastvale.

Politics

The Colony is a Home Rule municipality with a council-manager form of government. It has a six-member council, with two members elected at large, as well as a city Mayor.

Geography

The Colony is located at 33°5′27″N 96°53′5″W (33.090874, -96.884659).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.1 square miles (41.7 km²), of which 14.0 square miles (36.3 km²) of it is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), or 12.93%, is water.

The city is bordered on the west by Lewisville Lake and the city of Lewisville, on the north and east by Frisco, and on the south by the cities of Carrollton and Plano. Approximately 23 miles (37 km) of shoreline on Lewisville Lake (including two peninsulas) are contained within the city's boundaries, thus providing the basis for the city's nickname "City by the Lake."

Climate

The Colony is part of the humid subtropical region.

Major highways

Education

The Colony is located inside both the Lewisville Independent School District and Little Elm Independent School District. The Lewisville ISD has built six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school inside the city limits. The elementary schools are Peters Colony Elementary, Camey Elementary, B.B. Owen Elementary, Stewart's Creek Elementary, Ethridge Elementary, and Morningside Elementary. The two middle schools are Griffin Middle School and Lakeview Middle School. The Little Elm ISD has built a K-8 STEM Academy in The Tribute subdivision.

Owing to its original history as part of Frisco, The Colony is located inside the community college district, Collin College, unlike all other places in Denton County. However, since residents of The Colony do not pay taxes to said district they must pay out-of-county tuition rates to attend the college.

In May 2009, Griffin Middle School student and The Colony resident Eric Yang won the National Geographic Bee, beating out 54 other state competition champions to win a scholarship and travel package valued at more than $25,000.

High school

The Colony High School is located just north of Texas State Highway 121 on Blair Oaks Drive. The Lady Cougars soccer team won the 2007 Class AAAA soccer championship, the school's first in any sport. The Colony is home to the TopCats Drill Team as well as a renowned TCHS 350 piece Marching Band that participated in the 1997 Tournament of Roses Parade. The Colony Marching Band has additionally been a finalist in the Texas State UIL Marching Contest in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2000. The Colony High School Wind Symphony was named the TMEA Class 5A Honor Band in 1997 and performed at the Midwest International Band Clinic in Chicago in 1994 and 1997, the American Bandmasters Association Convention in 2000, and at Carnegie Hall in 2001. The Colony Band has placed over 100 wind and percussion students in All-State Band and Orchestra since 1986.

Dallas Mavericks point guard and Olympic gold medalist Deron Williams played for The Colony High School.

Hollywood stage and film actor Ethan Rains was a member of The Colony High School varsity theatre club The Colony Players class of 1999.

Current Creighton University starting point guard Austin Chatman played for The Colony High School.

Future growth

Years of planning work by city leaders have translated into a strong pace of economic and community development in The Colony. Nebraska Furniture Mart broke ground September 25, 2012, on a $1.5 billion, 433-acre complex along State Highway 121 between Plano Parkway and West Spring Creek Parkway. The Omaha-based furniture retailer is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. The complex is anchored by a 1.86 million-square-foot Nebraska Furniture Mart building, and includes a 600,000-square-foot showroom. The footprint for Nebraska Furniture Mart of Texas, which opened in May 2015, is equivalent to 40 football fields and sits on approximately 90 acres. It is a part of the largest retail and entertainment destination of its kind in North America. Nebraska Furniture Mart is expected to attract over 8 million visitors and generate $600 million in sales annually.

NFM Texas is part of a larger, 433-acre development known as Grandscape. Grandscape is expected to draw high-end retail, entertainment, hotels and office space, as well as tourist attractions. High-profile tenants already joining Grandscape include SCHEELS and Lava Cantina.

Infrastructure projects underway in The Colony include the Main Street/FM 423 Widening Project by the Texas Department of Transportation, encompassing over 10 miles of construction in three cities. Improvements in The Colony involve widening four miles of Main Street from Stewarts Creek Road to State Highway 121. Work should conclude in the last quarter of 2017. Widening of Plano Parkway has been completed, expanding the road from four lanes to six lanes. The Memorial-Spring Creek Connector linking Memorial Drive in The Colony to SH 121 in Plano via a railroad underpass was finished in May 2015. In addition, a new overpass has been constructed to carry South Colony Boulevard over the Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH121) using a first-in-Texas design known as a diverging diamond interchange.

While The Colony is growing, prime space is plentiful with more than 700 acres (280 ha) to develop including State Highway 121 frontage. Mixed use centers include The Cascades at The Colony, a 100-acre master-planned community consisting of 280 residences; flex office space; a Marriott Residence Inn; and a Marriott Fairfield Inn. A Courtyard by Marriott is also under construction. Another mixed use center is Austin Ranch, located west of the Dallas North Tollway and south of State Highway 121. The development has prime sites for corporate campuses, commercial offices, industrial distribution parks, retail strip centers, pad sites, multi-family and single-family homes.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,531 people, 8,462 households, and 7,141 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,942.1 people per square mile (749.9/km²). There were 8,812 housing units at an average density of 645.0 per square mile (249.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.46% White, 5.18% African American, 1.68% Asian, 0.71% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.30% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.26% of the population.

There were 8,462 households out of which 53.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city, the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 males there were 98.8 females. For every 100 males age 18 and over, there were 97.1 females.

The median income for a household in the city was $64,080, and the median income for a family was $66,203. Males had a median income of $44,208 versus $30,530 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,903. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.