Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Published: May 2, 2000


Westlake, Hillwood sign water service agreement

By Steve Stein
Star-Telegram staff writer

Westlake and Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood Development Corp. recently entered into an agreement that guarantees water service for the entire town.

Hillwood agreed to build about a four-mile waterline, as well as a storage tank and a pump station on the Westlake's west side, which will become assets of the town at the end of construction. In exchange, Westlake will repay construction costs to Hillwood during 30 years, Town Manager Trent Petty said yesterday.

Petty said he could not discuss the cost of the project until Hillwood sends him a construction contract, which he expects soon. But he said the agreement between Hillwood and the town is an important milestone of future development.

The waterline, scheduled for completion in mid-December, will begin at U.S. 377 and stretch about four miles across Perot's Circle T Ranch to Precinct Line Road, said Russell Laughlin, Hillwood senior vice president.

Laughlin said the agreement will serve as the backbone of development in Westlake because it will provide water service to the town.

The waterline will provide service to Glenwyck Farms, a subdivision being built, and also will tie in to Fidelity Investments' large corporate campus, which also is under construction.

The agreement also guarantees a source of water for the many developments planned for the Circle T Ranch, including an 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Fazio that will begin construction soon.