Even prominent developers can face setbacks, as shown by the Mesquite City Council’s recent decision regarding Centurion American Development Group. The council denied a request from the firm, led by president and CEO Mehrdad Moayedi, to install a 30-foot sign at its Iron Horse Village project. Council members said they wanted to see more high-end retail and restaurants fill existing vacancies before allowing such signage.
Centurion American had hoped that installing the sign would help attract tenants to the 54-acre mixed-use development. Construction on Iron Horse Village began in 2019 after Mesquite approved a public improvement district for the site. So far, the project includes 138 single-family homes, 198 townhomes, and 26,000 square feet of unfinished retail space. Commercial development is still planned for an additional 10 acres.
Edge Realty Partners is responsible for leasing out the retail spaces at Iron Horse Village but has struggled to secure tenants. Perla Tavera, controller for Centurion American, said that company leaders believed a new sign could aid those efforts.
The city council remains unconvinced that enough progress has been made toward attracting higher-quality amenities. “My bigger issue with Centurion in this particular development is the idea that we were going to get retail and top-level restaurants, and what has ended up happening is fast service, a car wash and a built shopping center that has sat vacant while all the homes have been built,” said council member Jeff Casper.
According to reports from the Dallas Business Journal, Casper also stated that Centurion “supremely overpromised and underdelivered” on bringing quality retail options to Iron Horse Village.
Centurion American is known throughout North Texas for large-scale land acquisitions and master-planned communities. Since it was founded in 1990, it has completed more than 100,000 single-family lots across various projects in the region. Current plans include building over 4,000 homes within Alpha Ranch along Highway 114 north of Fort Worth as well as developing Legacy Hills in Celina—a master-planned community spanning about 3,200 acres—and Cottonwood in Grayson County covering approximately 1,500 acres.
