The long-disputed redevelopment of Pepper Square in Far North Dallas is getting bigger than the deal the City Council struck last year, and the developers say they will not need another council vote to do it.
Henry S. Miller Company and Lincoln Property Company announced this week that they have signed on as partners in rebuilding the northern 15.51 acres of the shopping center at Preston Road and Belt Line Road. Their plan calls for at least 1,050 apartments and about 65,000 square feet of new retail across three phases, along with landscaped public space.
The existing Trader Joe's and Hobby Lobby sit outside the redevelopment area.
The first phase is a five-story, 313-unit apartment community with more than two acres of public open space, according to the companies. They expect construction to start on or about May 1, 2027.
Past the council's cap
When the council approved a planned development district for the site in March 2025 after a bitter neighborhood fight, the ordinance capped housing at 868 units, a limit introduced by then-Council Member Jaynie Schultz, CandysDirt.com reported. The new figure is roughly 180 units higher.
The developers are relying on Senate Bill 840, the state housing law that took effect Sept. 1, 2025. A city information sheet says the law requires Dallas to allow multifamily and mixed-use residential projects by right in districts that permit office, retail, commercial or warehouse uses, including planned development districts, and bars the city from requiring a zoning change or other discretionary approval for them.
Hal Watson, president of HSM Multi Housing, told CandysDirt.com the company expects to seek only "ministerial approval," similar to a building permit. He said the site's height limits and open-space requirements still apply. "Our entire design, our entire plan, is completely in the best interests of everybody in the neighborhood," he said.
Greg Miller, the firm's president and CEO, said in the companies' announcement that phase one "is only the beginning."
