New 212-home development unveiled on east side of Harlingen

HARLINGEN — A major new housing development broke ground Wednesday, which eventually will bring 212 new homes to the Harlingen real estate market.

The development will be near the rapidly-growing medical school and hospital area and is located at the corner of Haine Drive and FM 509, also known as Paso Real.

McAllen-based builder Esperanza Homes, owned by Rhodes Enterprises, will continue developing the property and expects to begin sales this summer with the first house to break ground in October.

“Paso Real is going to be a starter home community and will have over 212 lots allowing families to make their dreams become reality, especially at a time when right now there’s not that many houses,” said Javier De Leon, president and CEO of the Harlingen Area of Commerce.

The lowest-priced homes in the development will start at just under $200,000, officials said, with other more expensive models available at up to 3,000-plus square feet.

Paso Real will be the 13^th housing development created by Rhodes Enterprises in South Texas.

“We build planned communities, so we put a lot of effort into the actual land plan, the uses, to make sure we have trails, parks, amenities, high quality of life for the same if not lower price and more value,” said Nick Rhodes, president and CEO.

“It’s a mixed-use development so we’re going to have an 8,000-square-foot shopping center, a multi-family complex, 212 homes and over $85 million in tax base added here over the next six years at completion,” he added.

Rhodes said each home in Paso Real will be wired with ultra-high-speed fiber optic cable, which will allow new owners to quickly establish internet connections.

“We’re doing this with a four-acre park. We’re spending over $1.2 million on a park facility that includes basketball courts for the community, shade structures, trails and field areas, which is an important part of what we do,” Rhodes said.

The new development is already moving dirt and is catty-corner from IDEA San Benito school. The site is surrounded by mostly farm acreage, although it is likely to rapidly be developed in the near future given the explosive growth in and around the area.

“We hope that this will not be their last project, it will just be a start to a continued investment in our community,” Mayor Chris Boswell said. “We broke ground on another residential subdivision a couple of weeks ago on the other side of town, and the developer told me there that he had to take the sign down because he was already sold out.”

“I predict you will have similar experience here,” the mayor added.