The 85-acre area along Marine Creek Parkway, north of Interstate 820, is already home to Chisholm Trail High School, the Hollenstein Career and Technology Center, and the Tarrant County College Northwest campus. Soon, a middle school will join the bunch - Marine Creek Middle School, currently under construction and expected to open August 2019. An elementary school, still in the early planning process, is in the works as well.
"It's really about connecting the community," says Clete Welch, chief operations officer for the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District. The district currently has 19,300 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and expects that number to grow, depending on factors like the state of the housing market and development. According to the district's first quarter 2018 demographic report, the district projects that enrollment will increase to more than 25,000 students by the 2027-28 school year and will top out at 40,000 when the area is completely built out.
The upcoming middle school - whose mascot will be the Mustang and colors will be dark blue and silver - will stand at two stories and 165,000 square feet. The school will have a walking path connected to Marine Creek Lake and trail system. The school district is working on the project with VLK Architects and Pogue Construction.
Aside from educational facilities (which also include plans for a future elementary school, as well as an additional school district building), there's more development in the pipeline for the area. YMCA is currently fundraising to build a location within the vicinity. East of Old Decatur Road will be the upcoming Quarry Falls development, which will feature a beach area and Ferris wheel among other recreational activities. Construction on the neighborhood retail and gas station portions of Quarry Falls is expected to begin within the next four months.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw is planning two additional schools for the district as well. In February, the district closed on the property for its 16th elementary school, Copper Creek Elementary School. Copper Creek will be located along Blue Mound Road, across from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility. Additionally, the school district is planning to begin the design process for its fourth high school, Eagle Mountain High School, in 2019. Both schools are expected to open in 2020.