Golf courses · Texas
Exploration Green
Publicly owned regreen retrofit of former golf course to 200-acre nature reserve with stormwater integration, in a growing county with strong rental market. · summary, model-written
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile4 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
County permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year
This site: 4,231 units, Collin County census-bps · all sites with thisFast-growing county (8%+ 2018–23)
This site: 18% census-acs · all sites with thisRegreened
This site: 200-acre nature reserve, with a centerpiece of five interconnected lakes attached to the area’s stormwater infrastructure record · all sites with thisPark and open space
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit builtWikipedia no source |
|---|---|
| Strategy | RegreenedWikipedia no source |
| New uses | parkWikipedia no source |
| What is there now | 200-acre nature reserve, with a centerpiece of five interconnected lakes attached to the area’s stormwater infrastructurenewtypes-extraction reported |
| Redeveloper | Clear Lake Water Authoritynewtypes-extraction reported |
Site context
| Housing permits, Collin County (TX), 2024 | 4,231 units in 5+ unit buildings, 157 in 2–4, 14,425 single-family; 2023: 6,357 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 0 within 10 km, 5 within 25 kmcomputed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 58,362 jobs in 2,996 establishments; average annual pay $48,332; employment location quotient 1.05; employment +1.9% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 257 jobs; 14 in retail trade, 14 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 48085031008)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 41th income percentile as adults; 5.5% incarcerated at the 2010 count (605 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 78% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 8.2%; median family income $69,831; 78 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | Princeton Independent School District (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: MAYFIELD ELNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 530 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 493 county-logged events: 310 hail, 108 thunderstorm wind, 35 lightning, 27 flash flood; $2,192,617,250 property damage reported; 1 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 75407, 2026-09 | median list price $309,950 (-4.6% on the year); 340 active listings; median 71 days on market; 20% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 3,055 establishments (+25%); 55,568 jobs (+27%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $477,505 (-5% 1 yr, +12% 5 yr); typical rent $1,716/mo (-0% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
Summary, model-written
Former golf course retrofitted to 200-acre nature reserve with five interconnected lakes, integrated into stormwater infrastructure. Built by Clear Lake Water Authority (public owner).
Why. County population grew 18.2% (2018–23), median rent $1,792. Strategy: regreen (retrofit already completed).
Where it stands. Status: built. No build year specified. County (Collin County) shows 2023–2024 residential permit activity (5,414 units, $5.4B value).
For a planner
- Public owner reduces transaction complexity.
- Stormwater integration aligns with infrastructure needs.
For a developer
- No new construction needed (retrofit complete).
- High county growth and rent metrics suggest market stability.
What we do not know yet
- No build year or specific project timeline provided.
- No post-retrofit usage metrics or visitor data in record.
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Highland Mall, Austin, TX · Malls · same strategy: regreen; also in TX
- Villa Italia Mall, Lakewood, CO · Malls · same strategy: regreen
- Midtown Square Mall, Charlotte, NC · Malls · same strategy: regreen
- Miracle City Mall, Titusville, FL · Malls · same strategy: regreen
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- county grew 18.2% 2018–23
- median rent $1,792
- public owner
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| County | Collin County |
|---|---|
| Census division | 7 · West South Central |
| Notes | Draft from reasonstobecheerful.world, model-extracted, unreviewed: Exploration Green was a golf course that closed in the early 2000s and was transformed into a 200-acre nature reserve with stormwater lakes by 2023. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.
Sources
- Former Golf Courses Are Going Wild - Reasons to be Cheerful
1 quoted sentence
Exploration Green
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