Rex Glendenning and his wife, Sherese, quietly closed last Friday on an 815-acre tract known as Pace Ranch just north of Gainesville, a move that could reshape the Interstate 35 corridor north of Dallas. The deal hands a well-capitalized D-FW land brokerage control of property that Glendenning says could ultimately support thousands of housing units alongside large-scale industrial uses. Plans are still in the early stages and the purchase price has not been made public, but local officials, developers and nearby residents can expect zoning applications and traffic studies to start surfacing in the coming months.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the Glendennings acquired the 815-acre Pace Ranch through an entity called Old Chisholm Trail Partners, purchasing it from the Pace family, which had held the land for more than 75 years. The tract sits along I-35 about 70 miles from downtown Dallas and roughly 65 miles from downtown Fort Worth, just north of a proposed 1,000-acre BNSF Railway logistics park between Sanger and Valley View. Glendenning told the paper he envisions the northern 400 acres for single-family homes and apartments, while the southern portion could be reserved for a logistics or industrial park. Caleb Lavey of Frisco-based REX Real Estate handled the negotiations, the outlet reported.
Nearby H-E-B Land Buy Underscores the Shift
San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B recently said it has closed on more than 600 acres in Valley View for a master-planned supply-chain campus, signaling that major retailers and distributors are planting flags north of Denton, according to a company release. H-E-B stated that the site along Interstate 35 and East Lone Oak Road will be developed in phases and that there is no set timeline yet for construction. Market watchers say the grocer’s move helps explain why land brokers and logistics developers are increasingly circling Cooke County and neighboring communities.
Why Developers Think Gainesville Is Next
“The I-35 corridor is experiencing significant growth in the logistics sector from the Fort Worth Alliance area through Denton and Sanger,” Glendenning told The Dallas Morning News, adding that Gainesville is “next in line” for the right kind of project. He estimated the property could accommodate roughly 800 to 1,000 single-family homes and between 2,000 and 3,000 apartments, stressing that those numbers are conceptual and ultimately hinge on zoning outcomes and market demand. Glendenning also said he is in active negotiations with grocers to bring in neighborhood retail. Those comments track with a broader trend of landowners and brokers placing early bets farther north of the traditional D-FW suburban ring.
Glendenning’s Track Record And Stakes
Glendenning is the founder of REX Real Estate, a Frisco-based brokerage that focuses on large land positions along North Texas growth corridors and showcases numerous master-planned and mixed-use deals on its website. REX Real Estate highlights past projects and partnerships that reflect the firm’s strategy of assembling sizable acreages and positioning them for homebuilders and institutional users. Local brokers say the Pace Ranch acquisition fits a familiar playbook: assemble the land, secure entitlements, then sell off parcels to residential builders and logistics tenants. That model helps explain why developers are willing to pay for acreage that sits a longer drive from the metro’s core.
What To Watch Next
Any formal development plan will require land-use approvals, infrastructure spending and coordination with school districts, a process that can stretch over many months or even years as utilities, road upgrades and environmental reviews are worked out. Early signals to watch include rezoning requests or traffic-impact studies filed with Cooke County and nearby cities, along with any letters of intent from builders or industrial users. If the Pace Ranch effort unfolds like other North Texas projects, entitlements and initial marketing could start within a year, followed by phased home construction. For now, the transaction stands as an early but meaningful bet that North Texas growth will continue pushing outward along I-35.
