Welcome to Ultraground. We analyze multifamily phases for you.
CC May 6, 2025 – CC April 15, 2025 – P&Z March 24, 2025
District: 2 | South Grand Prairie
300-Unit Multifamily | 1101 & 1105 E Fish Creek Rd | Approved
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DISTRICT: 2
Prose Westcliff Phase II 1101 & 1105 E Fish Creek Rd, 3971 Westcliff Rd & 1199 E IH-20
South Grand Prairie | 14.18 Acres | 300 Units | Approved
City Council 5/6/25
MU → HDR + Concept Plan | Approved
Prose Westcliff Phase II is a 300-unit multifamily development on 14.18 acres in Grand Prairie, positioned directly on IH-20. The deal was unanimously approved by Grand Prairie City Council on May 6, 2025, despite staff being "unable to support the request" due to inconsistency with the Future Land Use Map (which designated the area for Mixed Use rather than High Density Residential). The zoning already permitted multifamily by right under PD-18, making the council's approval largely procedural.
The project is being developed by Alliance Residential, the same team behind Phase I, which is currently under construction directly west of the site. Alliance’s David Dierkes confirmed they're designing this as a standalone property with "separate clubhouses, separate amenities, separate entrances" from Phase I, potentially setting up each phase for different ownership in the future.
U/ Product
The Council showed interest in product quality. Phase I reportedly featured enhanced landscaping and "the whitest stone" materials.
Despite reservations about the business model, Council Member Headen acknowledged the quality of Phase I.
‟Construction is moving really fast [on Phase I] it looks good. One of the things you and your team were flexible on was a change on some materials. We moved to the whitest stone you guys enhanced landscaping. Very excited about all of that – as excited as you can be about apartments.
For Phase II, Alliance indicated they "do not prefer to go with the same look" but would use "the same materials" consisting of "stone and brick maybe more of a darker brick and stone on accents" with "different paint colors on our fiber cement siding."
Prose Westcliff Phase I & II
300 units in 8 buildings
14.18 acres (21.16 units/acre density)
Unit mix: 58% one-bedroom (174 units), 42% two/three-bedroom (126 units)
Minimum living area: 731 SF
Maximum building height: 43 ft
513 total parking spaces (105 covered, exceeding 20% requirement)
Developed as market rate housing with conventional financing
Amenities include clubhouse, pool, dog park, pickle ball court, and a meandering sidewalk away from the highway for pedestrian safety. Building orientation was designed to minimize windows facing the single-family neighborhood to the north.
A housing finance corporation discussion was initiated by a resident, Harold Willis, who specifically requested that council "deny all of this until the Republicans in Austin have signed the bill that apartment complexes cannot be taken off the tax rolls." Willis directly referenced Arlington Mayor Jim Ross appearing "on channel 11 a couple of weeks ago" expressing frustration about "these apartments being taken off the tax rolls."
Willis confrontationally asked the council, "when you approve a zoning how do we know they're going to pay their taxes?" This public comment forced the council to address the HFC issue, even though it wasn't directly related to the zoning case at hand.
Mayor Jensen confirmed the city is actively lobbying on this issue. Specifically, Mayor Jensen seemed to supporting the proposed legislation bills limiting traveling HFCs.
‟We're supporting some bills down in Austin that will give us the right to control any apartments in our city by our own HFC is the only one that can take them over. We are supporting and our lobbyist and I went to Austin in support of the bills that are trying to correct that. It's never usually the one that starts it. It's the second buyer...or the third, or the fourth. And that’s why we’re really aggressively pursuing this legislation.
Note: Report and tracking on house bills under review that affect HFC, PFC, and Housing Authority partnerships to follow (HB 1585, HB 21, SB 2766, and more).
The developer explicitly stated regarding their financing approach:
‟Phase I was conventionally financed – we have not looked into HFC financing for Phase II at all. That's never our mode of operation.
The Grand Prairie Council demonstrated clear frustration with the HFC tax exemption issue while acknowledging their limited authority over the by right zoning held by the developer. Mayor Jensen's comments reflect the tension:
‟Remind everybody we've had them* tell us their 10-year old hold and sell it in three...he's telling us directly, I mean maybe he's being more honest.
*It was unclear if Jensen was referring to Alliance or other developers in Grand Prairie.
David Dierkes was upfront about their "develop and sell" approach, stating:
‟We do generally develop with the intent of selling the property in the not too distant future. A 5-year hold would be a typical scenario for us.
This transparency seemed to garner a mixed reaction from council members, who appeared resigned to the model even while expressing frustration with it.
The project’s District 2 Council Member Jacquin Headen expressed disappointment about the developer's short-term holding strategy.
‟Would have loved to hear a longer tenure was planned, but we are aware that you guys do have the zoning and I look forward to meeting with you on the site plan and materials.
However, she ultimately made the motion to approve, acknowledging "we are aware that you guys do have the zoning."
City Council 4/15/25
MU → HDR + Concept Plan | Postponed
Planning & Zoning Commission 3/24/25
MU → HDR + Concept Plan | Approved
The Prose Westcliff Phase II deal is the second installment of Alliance Realty Partners' multifamily development on Grand Prairie's IH-20 corridor. This deal mirrors Phase I with 300 units on roughly 14 acres, but with 8 buildings instead of 10. Alliance is capitalizing on whatever success they're seeing with Phase I, which is currently under construction.
The site sits at 1101 & 1105 E Fish Creek Road and 1199 E IH-20, with Phase I directly adjacent. Interestingly, the recently approved Grand Prairie Housing Finance Corporation (GPHFC)’s 463-unit acquisition is just on the west side of Phase I.
The deal's advantage is that it's zoned PD-18 from 1972, which allows multifamily by right. They're requesting a Concept Plan approval and a technical FLUM amendment to align with existing entitlements. Planning Commission approved it 8-0 on March 24, calling it a "cleanup" measure.
The development's density hits 21.16 units per acre, leveraging a 20% bonus for meeting design standards. The unit mix runs 58% one-beds (174 units) and 42% two/three-beds (126 units), with a minimum unit size of 731 square feet. Their amenity package includes: clubhouse, pool, pickleball court, dog park, and a gated entry.
Parking comes in at 513 spaces with 105 covered spots, exceeding the 20% covered requirement. Building height tops out at 43 feet, under the 50-foot maximum. Materials include brick veneer and fiber cement siding with architectural articulation to break up the massing.
Phase I pricing was in the "affordable" range at $1.72-$1.85/SF, suggesting Phase II will follow suit. Alliance appears to be targeting a value-oriented renter – no affordability requirements were mentioned in any documentation.
The political landscape is worth understanding. The project’s District 2 Council Member Jacquin Headen was absent on April 15 and requested a postponement for time to meet with the developer.
Looking back at Phase I feedback gives us context:
City Council 3/5/24
Site Plan | Approved
Council complained about "blah" and "basic" design. Council Member Headen had to work with the Phase I developer "to enhance the look of it" so "at least it won't be an eyesore."
‟Even though we don't necessarily like apartments, we feel like we've got a lot of them, but they have the right here. There's a lot of zoning in this town for apartments that took place years and years ago.
District 2 Council Member Jacquin Headen worked with the developer to secure modest improvements rather than opposing the entitled project:
‟I have worked with the developer to enhance the look of it. The materials are different, the white stone, it didn't look as great so at least it won't be an eyesore.
You saved: 2h 2m
Market viability is demonstrated by Alliance's quick movement to Phase II before Phase I’s completion.
Developer: Alliance Residential Company, David Dierkes Phone: (214) 443-4430 Email: [email protected] LinkedIn
Owner: Jon Krabbenschmidt Phone: (415) 378-9525 Email: [email protected]
2024 P I Project Plans: ZON-23-10-0034 Plan
Staff Report: ZON-25-02-0005
Phase II Project Plans: ZON-25-02-0005 Plan
More on the Grand Prairie HFC:
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