Rolling on in

New tiny-home village opens big doors to small living north of Dallas-Fort Worth

This is what a dreamy tiny home could look like.

Photo courtesy of Allswell

The first residents of a tiny-home development north of Dallas-Fort Worth have moved in, and more tiny-house projects could be on the horizon across the Metroplex.

Earlier this month, residents occupied five homes at the 13-lot Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village, developer Terry Lantrip says. More move-ins are on tap, but a couple of lots do remain available.

“We have other small developers and tiny-home enthusiasts who want to build their own tiny-home villages that have asked for help, since we’ve been successful with this village,” Lantrip tells CultureMap.

Lantrip says he’s working with one developer who wants to build two tiny-house villages in the DFW area. He declines to identify where those developments are being contemplated.

The Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village is billed as the first project of its kind to be located in a downtown district in the U.S. It’s within walking distance of parks, restaurants, two schools, and a library.

Each lot at the Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village rents for $500 to $550 a month, including access to a “washateria,” and hookups for water and sewer service. One lot accommodates a resident-owned tiny home ranging from 100 to 400 square feet — no bigger than a modest hotel suite. Lot leases are renewed every 12 months. Tiny homes must be on wheels but be tied down and have fire-resistant skirting installed.

The median price of a tiny home in the U.S. is close to $60,000.

Lantrip says the village is one of the most challenging projects he’s ever undertaken. Initial work on the village started three years ago.

“There was a lot of learning about tiny homes and the tiny-home lifestyle, and there was a lot of teaching, especially city staff, the contractors and tradesmen. Most of those we worked with on this project hadn’t even seen a tiny home in person,” he says.

Officials from one DFW suburb already have stopped by the Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village on a fact-finding trip, as they’re considering a tiny-home village in their city, Lantrip says. He declines to name that community.

Lantrip envisions officials from other cities visiting the village and realizing that with proper planning and strict guidelines, “there’s really nothing to fear” about tiny-home developments.

“I’m sure other cities are watching to see if a tiny-home village will work in their city,” he says. “A tiny-home village would work really well in a city or an area of a city that needs something to help spur development.”

“Our business community has been very receptive because they know this will bring in more residents who will be customers,” Lantrip adds, “and it will also bring in people who just want to drive by and see a real tiny-home village.”

Nearly 7,800 people live in Lake Dallas, which sits along Lewisville Lake. The Denton County suburb is about 30 miles northwest of Dallas.

Tiny-home enthusiasts throughout North Texas helped make the Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village a reality, Lantrip says. For instance, some tiny-home boosters attended public meetings in Lake Dallas where Lantrip’s project was discussed, while others assisted with planning, property development, and landscaping.

“It takes a village to build a village,” he says, “and it couldn’t have been more true with this project.”

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Elite address

One Texas community makes list of the richest small towns in America

Photo courtesy of Compass

Bunker Hill Village is a coveted address in the Houston area.

An upscale community in Texas is among the top 10 richest towns in America, according to a new 2024 report. The community is Bunker Hill Village in Houston, and it's home to the richest residents in Texas. Sorry, Colonial Hills.

The analysis, by loan provider TitleMax, lists the 50 richest small towns — one from each state — using median household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Bunker Hill Village, the median household income is about $250,000, the report says.

Of course, "small town" is a bit of a misnomer for Bunker Hill Village. Situated 13 miles west of downtown Houston, Bunker Hill joins five other communities – Hunters Creek, HiIlshire, Hedwig, Piney Point, and Spring Valley – to make up Houston's iconic Memorial Villages. In 2023, Bunker Hill was ranked the third-most expensive Houston neighborhood, with homes on the market for upwards of $2.7 million.

Notably, the area is home to Houston's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house.

"We are very proud of our quiet, wooded environment, and as a community, we work hard to preserve it for future generations," the city's website says.

The study found that more than half (56.5 percent) of the 1,250-home community make over $200,000 a year, while the enclave's median household income amounts to $247,188.

To put that into perspective, TitleMax revealed that the national median household income is $67,521. The Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey estimates the median income of a household in Texas came out to $75,780 in 2023.

Bunker Hill joins the likes of Houston's Bellaire and West University Place as some of the most affluent suburbs in America. The North Texas suburb of Southlake also made it on that list.

The No. 1 slot went to Monte Sereno, a suburb of San Jose, California with a median household income of more than $250,000, according to the report.

"While many people consider cities to be the epicenters of the rich, many retreat to small towns that offer safety, beauty, and privacy," the report's author wrote.

These are the top 10 wealthiest small towns in America, with their median household incomes:

No. 1 – Monte Sereno, California ($250,000-plus)
No. 2 – Cherry Hills Village, Colorado ($250,000-plus)
No. 3 – Mission Hills, Kansas ($250,000-plus)
No. 4 – Short Hills, New Jersey ($250,000-plus)
No. 5 – Scarsdale, New York ($250,000-plus)
No. 6 – Belle Meade, Tennessee ($250,000-plus)
No. 7 – Glencoe, Illinois ($248,851)
No. 8 – Bunker Hill Village, Texas ($247,188)
No. 9 – Clyde Hill, Washington ($238,958)
No. 10 – Chevy Chase Village, Maryland ($238,333)

The full report can be found on titlemax.com.

reports real estate houston