Westlake, Texas


Westlake is a town in Denton and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and an upscale suburb of Fort Worth. The population is 992 as of the 2010 United States Census.

History

The area known as Westlake was originally settled in 1847 by Charles and Matilda Medlin with about 20 other families. In the mid-twentieth century, what is now Westlake was known as Circle T Ranch, a 2,000 acre ranch founded by Dallas attorney and oilman J. Glenn Turner. When incorporated in the late 1950s, the name Southlake, Texas already existed, so ranchers and homeowners took the name Westlake.
During the late 1990s, the City Council attempted to disband the city. The large Solana development was annexed by Southlake, while several large tracts of land were annexed by Fort Worth, Texas. A local district judge ruled the annexations in violation of state law, and the properties returned under Westlake jurisdiction.
In 2000, the radio program This American Life featured a story about the battle to disband the town in the face of development by Ross Perot, Jr..
The city does not provide its own police force. Instead, law enforcement services are contracted from the City of Keller, which provides patrol and traffic enforcement officers to serve Westlake. The city does, however, provide its own Fire-EMS services.

Geography

Westlake is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.7 square miles, of which, 6.6 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it is water.

Surrounding Cities

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Westlake has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 207 people, 84 households, and 69 families residing in the town. Current population estimates as of January 2019 are between 1,300 and 1,600, after several years of growth in several subdivisions. The population density was 31.4 people per square mile. There were 87 housing units at an average density of 13.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 95.17% White, 2.42% African American, 2.42% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.
There were 84 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.6% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.71.
In the town, the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 43.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $128,375, and the median income for a family was $150,000. Males had a median income of $72,250 versus $41,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $59,206. About 2.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 7.7% of those sixty five or over. According to a Residential Survey conducted by the Town of Westlake and published in May 2017, 59% of residents have a combined household income of $500,000 or more.

Developments

When the company PrimeCo first began, it had its headquarters in Westlake. In 1999 the parties splitting PrimeCo agreed that the former headquarters would become the headquarters of the PrimeCo operations taken over by Vodafone AirTouch.
The Town of Westlake has quickly established itself as a Financial Service Industry Cluster within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Town is home to multiple financial-based institutions, with more to come.

Solana Business Park

The Solana Business Park, built in the 1980's and designed by famous architect Ricardo Legorreta, was the first of its kind for the DFW Metroplex. At its inception, the Solana Business Park housed the IBM Corporation with more than 1,000,000 square feet of office space. Today, the Solana Business Park contains a variety of over 30 businesses and a few restaurants that brings in a daytime population of over 3,000 employees.
The properties are also home to the Solana Marriott Hotel as well as the Solana Fitness Club. Currently, the Town Hall and municipal court is located in the Solana Terrace portion of the business park. Solana is also home to Sabre's global headquarters. Sabre Corporation is the leading technology services provider to the global travel industry with lines of business including its Travel Network that connects hotels, airlines and other travel suppliers with corporate and leisure travel agents, as well its Airline and Hospitality Solutions that provides technology infrastructure to airlines and hotels worldwide. Other notable business include Travelocity, Wells Fargo, Core-Mark, Verizon, Marsh & McLennan Companies, and Levi Strauss.
In January 2017, , a fast-growing agency and franchiser, announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Irving, TX to the Solana business park in Westlake. The company signed a lease for 62,000 square foot in office space at Solana, which recently completed a $70 million renovation. Goosehead said it planned to move about 150 employees to Westlake from its headquarters in Irving.

Corporate Campuses

The Town of Westlake is home to several corporate campuses such Fidelity Investments and Deloitte University. Fidelity Investments is a 1,129,853 square foot facility consisting of two buildings nestled behind a dense landscape of trees. Deloitte University is a 727,000 square foot $300 million learning center for Deloitte L.L.P.'s global workforce. Westlake's newest member will be the 1,160,000 square foot Charles Schwab Corporation campus which will bring in another 5,000 employees to the region. In November 2019, Charles Schwab announced it would buy TD Ameritrade and would combine both headquarters at the new Westlake campus.

Entrada

Entrada is a mixed-use section of the city that runs along Highway 114 East. Once completed, Entrada will boast residential and retail sections of the project. Entrada also will have 322 residential units, including 200 single family villas, 70 to 80 townhomes and 40 to 50 condominiums. The first phase of the $500 million walkable village will be at the corner of F.M. 1938 and Texas 114. A one of a kind CVS Pharmacy was the first business to open its doors in October 2016. Next, will be a Primrose School, scheduled to open by August 2016. The 161,000-square-foot Hyatt will have a 15,000-square-foot conference room for special events. The centerpiece will be a lake with a fountain feature that hearkens back to a village on the Spanish coastline. The project also includes an outdoor amphitheater and trails that connect to the rest of Westlake's network. The buildings have no setbacks, echoing the European-inspired design.

Project Blizzard

Project Blizzard is a 44-acre planned mixed-use development on the 114/170 merge and next to Lake Turner to be developed by Hillwood Properties, a Ross Perot Jr. company, and the Howard Hughes Corporation. The southern portion of the project will be used as Charles Schwab's Corporate Campus. The Schwab project includes a $315 million, 1,160,000-square-foot regional campus in Westlake that ultimately will bring 5,000 jobs to the North Texas within 10 years. Developers also plan a hotel, retail stores, and residences. The Schwab campus will be on the Westlake-Roanoke border, just north of JT Ottinger Road and west of Turner Lake. Governor Greg Abbott says the project will get a $6 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, creating the most new jobs of any enterprise fund grant made during his administration.

Education

Residents of the Town of Westlake may enroll their children into Westlake Academy or the following school districts depending on their location within the Town: Northwest Independent School District, Keller Independent School District, and Carroll Independent School District.

Westlake Academy

is an open-enrollment Kindergarten-12th grade charter school in Westlake, operating under the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Westlake Academy is owned and operated by the Town of Westlake. Any resident of Westlake may enroll their child into Westlake Academy, however citizens who reside outside the jurisdictional boundary of the Town of Westlake can enroll via a lottery system. The school now has several resources that includes 2 books that helps explain the history and day to day activity. Here Is Our Journey was created by a 10th grade student for her Personal Project that helps other people explain Westlake Academy. This book is available on Blurb. There is also a book called The Little Town That Could that also explains the Town of Westlake and its history. Both of these books are recommended for newcomers to Westlake Academy.

Carroll ISD

The eastern portion of the town is served by Carroll ISD :
The central/southern portion of the town is served by Keller ISD :
The northern/western portion of the town is served by Northwest ISD, however there are few residences in this part of town:

Major Airports

Fort Worth Alliance Airport

Major Roads

Texas State Highway 170
U.S. Route 377
Farm to Market Road 1938

Notable people

Residents of Westlake