Preston Harbor, a $7 billion community on the shores of Lake Texoma, is hitting major milestones.
The Preston Harbor Margaritaville Resort will include a hotel, restaurants, entertainment venues, swimming pools and boat slips on the lake, as well as residential bungalows, cottages and casitas. (Craig International)
Last month, Centurion American Development Group broke ground on its planned residential community within the 3,100-acre development in Denison. The Farmers Branch-based firm — one of the region’s largest home community developers — is planning 1,300 homes on 550 acres.
The company purchased the land from Preston Harbor’s master-developer — Waterfall Partners, headed by David Craig, CEO of Craig International.
Craig and Centurion American CEO Mehrdad Moayedi spoke with The Dallas Morning News about the project and next steps. The development will double the size of the city, and Craig now estimates the project will total nearly $7 billion in value.
“We’ve been friends for 45 years,” Moayedi said. “That’s how we got together [on this].”
Just the Start
Centurion American has started turning dirt, but there will be a lot more housing at Preston Harbor.
Roughly 338 acres are reserved for 1,184 residential lots. The remaining 221 acres will be for 115 larger estate lots measuring from a half-acre to over 7 acres.
Centurion American’s lots are estimated to be turned over to builders before the end of 2026.
Craig said that up to 10,000 housing units could be built at the site. A majority will be single-family homes, and less than 1,500 apartments are planned for the site. Excluding apartments, there will be at least 8,000 residential units at the site.
The development will have many different price points and product types, ranging from condos and townhomes to active adult communities for older residents.
Craig said they’ve received 250 reservations for just 115 lots at the Estates at Preston Harbor.
“We’ve seen a strong demand for the estate lots,” he said. “We’ve decided to release the estate lots in spring 2026, but will continue to take reservations.”
The lake is clearly a big draw. Preston Harbor encompasses 9.5 miles of shoreline. But other developments along the northern fringes of the D-FW metro have driven builders closer to the Oklahoma border, Moayedi said.
He cited the billions of dollars invested in semiconductor manufacturing that includes projects from Texas Instruments and GlobalWafers. Centurion American has other developments near these projects such as Cottonwood, a massive mixed-use project that will bring thousands of homes near the small city of Dorchester.
“This is the first time I’ve been able to push everybody to come out here, and builders that are more of the core builders — Lennar, D.R. Horton [and others],” Moayedi said.
The duo says they are pulling out all the stops. Moayedi said he plans to have a helicopter service to transport residents from Preston Harbor to a hub location near Dallas.
“I’m going to have a house there,” he said. “I’ve got two or three family members that are going up there.”
Key Roadway
Construction on a key roadway for the Preston Harbor development is expected to begin shortly after Thanksgiving.
Craig said the funds are in escrow to build the project’s northern arterial. Crews are currently clearing the right-of-way for this and other roads near planned homes.
Centurion American is overseeing the construction of the road as well as other amenities within the development. It will take nine to 12 months to build the road, Craig said.
The roadway leads to the project’s two anchors — the Margaritaville resort and the marina. But it also opens up additional sections that Craig and company have set aside for more homes.
Margaritaville
Craig said development on the hotel will likely wait until the northern arterial roadway is built. The hotel’s development team is in place, and Phoenix Hospitality is the developer.
It would take 12 to 18 months to build the first phase of the resort, Craig said. Plans for the resort were announced in early 2024.
Developers had been scouting North Texas for a location for the Margaritaville-themed communities that pay homage to the island escapism lifestyle immortalized by songs of late singer Jimmy Buffett.
The Preston Harbor Margaritaville Resort will include a hotel, restaurants, entertainment venues, swimming pools and boat slips on the lake, as well as residential bungalows, cottages and casitas.
The hotel is being designed and is expected to have 150 rooms in the initial phase. Additional rooms may be added depending on market demand.
Phase one will also feature 50 of the residential bungalows, cottages and casitas.
‘Shiny’ New Marina
Craig told The News that negotiations are ongoing with a “significant marina company” regarding a ground lease and partnership.
The development’s marina is projected to have 900 boat slips.
“With all due respect to marina owners on Lake Texoma, I’m not sure there’s one younger than 40 years old,” Craig said. “This will be the newest and shiniest penny.”
A New Clinic?
Craig said Waterfall Partners has spoken with both Texoma Medical and Community Hospital Corporation about building a medical clinic within Preston Harbor.
Community Hospital Corporation is behind the newly planned Heritage Regional Medical Center in Sherman. That $400 million nonprofit acute care hospital is expected to open in early 2028.
“You need it for this community,” he said.