In the aughts, the ultramodern, sustainability-focused Urban Reserve neighborhood showcased to Dallasites what modern home design could do. Now a new Lake Highlands development called Urban Commons aims to do the same thing—this time with a focus on community.
Masterminded by developer Diane Cheatham, the complex is a sprawl of 11 residential villages that encourages community among occupants and promotes denser residential development—like the recently renovated Village apartments in East Dallas but with single-family living. Connected to one another via green spaces and trails, the residential communities have their own modern architectural personalities and designers.
The development’s showpiece is Outcrop, eight modular houses designed by NIMMO Architecture. Embracing the sloping terrain, architect Joshua Nimmo designed these homes to look like an “outcrop” of organic stone monoliths emerging from the landscape. The houses’ cylindrical shapes are softer than the boxy moderns of International Style and let sunlight play off the walls throughout the day. All that light variation combined with the sloping land gives each home its own character.
Stats: 80 houses in Urban Commons | 6 residential village architects | 1,000–2,800 square feet: range in Urban Commons house sizes
306 Blackland Ct. $724,900, $1,200/year HOA
3 bedrooms, 3.1 bathrooms | 2,414 square feet | Year Built: 2023
Listed by Thomas Rhodes with Compass
More Neighborhoods of Note
Get a glimpse at what you can get for your money in these four other notable Dallas neighborhoods.
Neighborhood
Winnetka Heights
Founded in 1890 and replatted in 1908, Oak Cliff’s Winnetka Heights offers a glimpse of turn-of-the-century Dallas. The 50-square-block, 600-house neighborhood—which was designated a historic district in 1981—has a wealth of early 20th-century Prairie- and Craftsman-style homes, like this 1930 bungalow.
515 S. Clinton Ave., $585,000
4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms | 1,859 square feet | Year Built: 1930
Listed by Kenneth Lo with Compass
Neighborhood
Bluffview
A century ago, J.P. Stephenson bought a dairy farm on the cliffs of Bachman Creek and developed what’s now known as Bluffview. Today, the neighborhood is celebrated for its hilly and forested terrain, large lots, and spectacular homes, like this brick modern, located on half an acre.
4707 Bluffview Blvd., $6,600,000
4 bedrooms, 4.1 bathrooms | 4,997 square feet | Year Built: 2011
Listed by Alex Perry with Allie Beth Allman & Associates
Neighborhood
State Thomas
Founded as a freedman’s town in the 1860s, Uptown’s State Thomas is one of Dallas’ oldest neighborhoods. The area’s few remaining 19th- and 20th-century Victorian homes—like this charmer, currently being used as a law office—are protected by a 1986 historic district ordinance.
2707 Hibernia St., $1,750,000
3 bedrooms, 2.1 bathrooms | 2,271 square feet | Year Built: 1925
Listed by Brady Moore with Compass
Neighborhood
Lochwood
Located northeast of White Rock Lake, Lochwood is a small, tight-knit community with plenty of trees, trails, and nearby eateries to keep residents happy. It was founded around 1954, with development of mid-century cottages and ranches like this one continuing through the 1970s.
11726 Cimarec St., $599,900
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms | 1,832 square feet | Year Built: 1968
Listed by Glen Christy with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate
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