The Master Plan for
Las Colinas developed in the early
'70's for the Las Colinas Corporation by Ernest J. Krump Associates,
Architects envisioned a series of individual communities, each with their
own identity and character. The individual communities would be part of a
larger community….a "city" of villages. The Las Colinas Corporation, a
subsidiary of Southland Financial, was to be the area developer. The Las
Colinas Association, formed in 1973, was established to manage the area.
According to subsequent plans Fox Glen was to be one of
the first three villages to be developed, along with Cottonwood Valley and
Hackberry Creek. Given it's proximity to the Las Colinas Country Club,
which was built in the 60's, and with limited home sites Fox Glen was
expected to create a most exclusive residential environment. Additionally
the development of Fox Glen was not expected to be influenced by the
drainage issues associated with both Cottonwood Creek and Hackberry Creek.
Drainage and flood-control provisions were integral to the master utilities
plan and were the catalyst for the extensive waterway system now seen
throughout Las Colinas.
Fox Glen, like all of Las Colinas, is built on a
portion of the rolling hills of the Blackland Prairies of east central Texas
known more specifically as the Eagle Ford Prairie. Elevations in the Village
are among the highest in Las Colinas.
Under Fox Glen is a soil known as the Houston and
Houston-black clays. This soil is highly active and subject to large volume
changes corresponding to seasonal variations in moisture content. Moisture
content becomes fairly stable at 12-14 feet beneath the surface.
An early drawing of Fox Glen that was included in the
original master plan indicates that the street layout was different from
what now exists. However both the original drawing and the existing layout
appear to have sought to maximize the number of golf course lots.
Figure: Early
Illustration of Fox Glen
Fox Glen filed it's Articles of Incorporation and a
Certificate of Incorporation with the State in November 1976. This allowed
for Phase I of Village development to begin in 1977 with construction of the
Villas on Fox Glen Circle.
The Villas were primarily built by the Crockett
Company, a subsidiary of the Las Colinas Corporation, and most were
completed by the end of 1978. The Las Colinas Corporation's sales office was
the Gatehouse and a temporary parking lot was constructed on Fox Glen Drive
next to the Villas. Initial land sales are believed to have required the
buyer to build within eighteen months.
With the initial sales of Villas and other residential
lots in 1977 the Las Colinas Corporation held an organizational meeting in
January 1978 to establish the Fox Glen Homeowner's Association. The initial
Board of Directors was made up of Ben H. Carpenter (the inspiration for Las
Colinas and owner of the Berry Creek Ranch), Ernest Perry (President of the
Las Colinas Corporation) and Webb Wallace (President of Southland Investment
Properties of Texas). At that meeting one of the first residents, R.B.Glatter, was elected President of the Homeowner's Association. For the
first year the Las Colinas Corporation funded Fox Glen's expenses. After the
first year, and until 1988, the Las Colinas Association annually provided a
decreasing subsidy to offset Fox Glen's expenses.
The first detached home construction began in 1978 and
approximately 6 homes were completed in '79 and another 6 were completed in
'80. Most Fox Glen homes were built in the 1980's and new construction since
1990 has been limited. For example only two homes appear to have been
constructed on Steeplechase Drive since 1990. Five were built in 1979 and
the remaining 36 were built in the 1980's.
In 1988 an undeveloped piece of property in Fox Glen
known as Area 116 was sold by the Las Colinas Corporation to a developer.
The property, which had been the site of the old O'Connor Dairy Farm, is
bordered by Fox Glen Circle, O'Connor Blvd and the 16th green.
The developer's plan was to divide the approximately 4.5 acres of Area 116
into eleven building lots on a new street which would face the 16th
green and exit onto O'Connor Blvd. The City of Irving's Planning and Zoning
Board denied the plan based on recommendations of the City's Traffic
Engineer.
From 1977, when the first homes were built in Fox Glen,
until 1997 the day-to-day management of the Village was a contracted service
purchased from the Las Colinas Association. At that time the LCA decided to
exit the property management business and the Fox Glen Board of Directors
contracted SBB as it's property manager