Westlake, Texas

History

The area known as Westlake was originally settled in 1847 by Charles and Matilda Medlin with about 20 other families. In the mid-twentieth century, what is now Westlake was known as Circle T Ranch, a 2,000 acre ranch founded by Dallas attorney and oilman J. Glenn Turner. When incorporated in the late 1950s, the name Southlake, Texas already existed, so ranchers and homeowners took the name Westlake.

During the late 1990s, the City Council attempted to disband the city. The large Solana development was annexed by Southlake, while several large tracts of land were annexed by Fort Worth, Texas. A local district judge ruled the annexations in violation of state law, and the properties returned under Westlake jurisdiction.

In 2000, the radio program This American Life featured a story about the battle to disband the town in the face of development by Ross Perot, Jr..

Interestingly, the city does not provide its own police force. Instead, law enforcement services are contracted from the City of Keller, which provides patrol and traffic enforcement officers to serve Westlake. The city does, however, provide its own fire and EMS services.

Westlake styles itself as the "Town of Westlake," but this is technically incorrect - under Texas law, all incorporated places, regardless of size or population, are considered "cities". The official name of the town in government documents is therefore "City of Westlake".

Geography

Westlake is located at 32°58′57″N 97°12′20″W (32.982584, -97.205670).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17.3 km²), of which, 6.6 square miles (17.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.35%) is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Westlake has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 207 people, 84 households, and 69 families residing in the town. Current population estimates are between 800 and 1000, after several years of growth in two master-planned residential subdivisions. The population density was 31.4 people per square mile (12.1/km²). There were 87 housing units at an average density of 13.2 per square mile (5.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.17% White, 2.42% African American, 2.42% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.

There were 84 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.6% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the town, the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 43.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $128,375, and the median income for a family was $150,000. Males had a median income of $72,250 versus $41,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $59,206. About 2.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 7.7% of those sixty five or over.

Economy

When the company PrimeCo first began, it had its headquarters in Westlake. In 1999 the parties splitting PrimeCo agreed that the former headquarters would become the headquarters of the PrimeCo operations taken over by Vodafone AirTouch. According to a 2016 Fundera study, Westlake ranked as the best city in Texas to start a small business.

The Town of Westlake has quickly established itself as a Financial Service Industry Cluster within DFW. The Town is home to multiple financial-based institutions, with more to come.

Project Blizzard will be a planned mixed-use development on the 114/170 merge and next to Lake Turner. The southern portion of the project will be used as Charles Schwab's Corporate Campus. The Schwab project will include a $100 million, 500,000-square-foot regional campus in Westlake that ultimately will bring 1,200 jobs to North Texas within 10 years. Developers also plan a hotel, retail stores, and residences. The Schwab campus will be on the Westlake-Roanoke border, just north of JT Ottinger Road and west of Turner Lake. Governor Greg Abbott says the project will get a $6 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, creating the most new jobs of any enterprise fund grant made during his administration.

Solana Plaza, Solana Terrace, Solana Vista, and The Land at Solana house several businesses from commercial to retail as well as an array of restaurants. (Hollywood Burger, Pizzeria La Scala, and Mar-Cosina). The properties are also home to the Marriott Hotel as well as the Solana Fitness Club. Most notably, Solana Plaza is where the Town Hall and municipal court is located. Solana is also home to Sabre’s global headquarters. Sabre is the leading technology services provider to the global travel industry with lines of business including its Travel Network that connects hotels, airlines and other travel suppliers with corporate and leisure travel agents, as well its Airline and Hospitality Solutions that provides technology infrastructure to airlines and hotels worldwide.

Goosehead Insurance, a fast-growing agency and franchiser, is relocating its corporate headquarters from Irving to the Solana business park in Westlake.

The company has signed a lease for 62,000 square foot in office space at Solana, which recently completed a $70 million renovation. It plans to move about 150 employees to Westlake by Aug. 1 from its current home office on Royal Lane.

Deloitte Westlake is also home to Deloitte University, a $300 million learning center for Deloitte L.L.P.’s global workforce.

Campuses of Fidelity Investments and Chrysler Financial Services are also located in Westlake.

Entrada is a mixed-use section of the city that runs along Highway 114 East. Once completed, Entrada will boast residential and retail sections of the project. Entrada also will have 300 residential units, including 200 single family villas, 70 to 80 townhomes and 40 to 50 condominiums. The first phase of the $500 million walkable village will be at the corner of F.M. 1938 and Texas 114. A one of a kind CVS Pharmacy was the first business to open its doors in October 2016. Next, will be a Primrose School, scheduled to open by August 2016. The 161,000-square-foot Hyatt will have a 15,000-square-foot conference room for special events. The centerpiece will be a lake with a fountain feature that harkens back to a village on the Spanish coastline. The project also includes an outdoor amphitheater and trails that connect to the rest of Westlake’s network. The buildings will have small setbacks, echoing the European-inspired design. The project, once completed, will be home to an amphitheater as well.

Education

The town is served by three independent school districts, Northwest Independent School District, Keller Independent School District, and Carroll Independent School District. Westlake residents may also enroll their children in Westlake Academy, an open enrollment state charter school.

The eastern portion of the town is served by Carroll ISD (Exemplary):

The western portion of the town is served by Keller ISD (Recognized):

The northern portion of the town is served by Northwest ISD, however there are no residences in this part of town.

Notable people

Residents of Westlake