Update:
This story is part of Boomtowns, a look at some of the cities surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth that are attracting the interest of homebuilders, businesses and new residents as the area grows.
Small-town Aubrey is becoming hub for big planned communities
Its citizens welcome growth but still want to preserve the ‘quintessential small-town feel.’
AUBREY — At the Aubrey Area Museum, exhibits describe key events in the city’s history: its founding in 1867 by Alabama transplant L.N. Edwards, the locals who fought in World War II and the devastating tornado that swept through in 1918, destroying two churches but sparing the historic First Baptist Church.
A look at Aubrey in images
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Aubrey faces change once again, brought not by a storm but by an economic shift. The arrival of major master-planned communities just outside the city limits could conscript the small city into the ranks of North Texas suburbs.
Silverado already has about 1,500 homes and could have as many as 5,000. Sandbrock Ranch will have about 2,400 homes. Two other master-planned communities, ArrowBrooke and Aspen Meadows, are also nearby.
Locals have forged bonds in places like Silverado, where residents have built their own tight-knit community 10 minutes down the road. Aubrey residents also welcome the growth big developments bring.
Still, they want to preserve their identity – what restaurant owner Krys Murray calls a “quintessential small town.”
“We want to have growth for our citizens and provide those services that they need,” interim city administrator Charles Kreidler said. “But we also want to keep that small-town feel, which is why most of the residents who live in the city limits of Aubrey moved here in the first place.”
Aubrey is no stranger to change. When cotton prices tanked starting in the 1920s, locals shifted to planting peanuts, which thrived in the area’s sandy soil. Drought and high costs eventually drove peanut farmers out of business, but that same soil drew horse ranchers and equestrian enthusiasts to Aubrey, and it’s now known as “Horse Country U.S.A.”
As its economy transforms again, Aubrey is moving beyond its origins as a farming community. Still, city leaders plan to take advantage of growth in a way that preserves its small-town history.
A 2015 master plan outlines a vision for a larger downtown, including a central square or larger public park and new space for businesses that would match Aubrey’s current buildings. That includes new buildings on Main Street that would fit with the existing historic structures as well as repurposing an old peanut-drying facility to put in a restaurant, museum or mixed-use space.
The planning process for the new downtown should start around the beginning of 2023, Kreidler said in an email.
The school district is expected to grow by more than 8,900 students in the next 10 years. In May, voters in the district approved $385.9 million in bonds that includes funding for three new elementary schools, a second middle school, additions to the high school and new athletic facilities.
“It’s very exciting to be in a district that is growing,” Superintendent David Belding said. But he noted that the district wants to keep class sizes small, which means employing enough teachers, instructional aides and support staff to go along with the new facilities.
D.R. Horton, which developed Silverado, set aside land for an elementary school that opened in 2020. That’s something Jackie Fuller, a retired Aubrey schoolteacher and the namesake of the school, would like to see happen more often.
“Developers make tons of money on things like that, so let them be a little responsible and provide space for the schools,” said Fuller, who now heads the Aubrey Historical Society and leads tours at the museum.
The growth could attract a chain grocery store near the city, Kreidler said, that would be larger than the existing options.
New residents also support existing businesses. Murray welcomes the boost to traffic at her restaurant, World Famous MOMS, and she thinks Aubrey can keep its identity as it grows.
“We’ve got one foot in the past and one foot in the future, and where we’re sitting now I feel really, really good about,” Murray said.
AUBREY AT A GLANCE
Population: Estimated 6,490 as of July 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau
Location: 49 miles northwest of downtown Dallas
Racial demographics: 79.4%, white, 9.1% Black, 6.8% Hispanic, according to U.S. Census Bureau
Median household income: $64,777 as of 2020 to U.S. Census Bureau
Median existing home sale price: $426,000, according to Redfin
Median new construction sale price: $372,729, according to Residential Strategies
Annual single-family home starts: 465 through second-quarter 2022, according to Residential Strategies
School district: Aubrey ISD
Master-planned communities: D.R. Horton’s Silverado could one day have as many as 5,000 homes, interim city administrator Charles Kreidler said. Sandbrock Ranch has plans for 2,400 homes, and Aspen Meadows plans for 312. ArrowBrooke does not list the number of homes on its website.
Retail: Aubrey’s businesses are clustered along U.S. 377, including restaurants, auto shops and retail. There are also local businesses in the historic downtown, including Murray’s World Famous MOMs.
Festivals and events: Aubrey holds an annual peanut festival in the fall, commemorating the industry that was once critical to the local economy.
Infrastructure projects: Improvements are in the works for local roadways, including U.S. 377 and FM-2931. The city has plans for new water infrastructure, including an expansion of its wastewater treatment plant and connection to the Upper Trinity Regional Water system.
History lesson: Famous singer Louise Tobin was born in Aubrey in 1918. She is the granddaughter of Aubrey’s founder, L.N. Edwards. Tobin toured Texas, the nation and the world with various jazz bands and orchestras. She’s also credited with discovering Frank Sinatra and recommending him to her husband, trumpeter Harry James, who hired Sinatra and kickstarted the singer’s career.
Meet the next North Texas boomtowns
As Dallas-Fort Worth grows, smaller cities in every direction are attracting the attention of builders and new residents. Here are some of the ones to watch.
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