More affordable apartments could come to Denton after a Denton City Public Facility Corp. board meeting Aug. 4 to evaluate its first application since it started accepting applications in December 2025. The organization evaluates property tax exemption applications for income-restricted affordable housing developments. 

The details: Developer April Housing applied for a 100% property tax exemption through the Denton City Public Facility Corp. to build an additional 252 affordable units at the Waterford at Spencer Oaks apartment complex. City documents state that of those 252 units, 165 units will be considered affordable for Denton and serve households that earn less than 50% of the Dallas area median income, or AMI.

Documents from April Housing show affordable rent rates for Denton will range from $535 per month for a 30% AMI one-bedroom unit up to $1,329 for a three-bedroom unit at 50% AMI. The expansion will also offer three-bedroom units at a rate of $1,634 per month for renters earning 80% AMI.

Students at the University of North Texas are helping the landscaping effort for Cole Ranch, an upcoming master-planned community in Denton, by caring for and then reintroducing native prairie plants on-site at the 3,000-acre development, according to a university news release.

The details: The group, led by UNT Clinical Assistant Professor Jaime Baxter-Slye, is working with the Cole family and developer Johnson Development to preserve the native prairie plants.

She said the prairie is currently intact, and the team wants to carefully remove and care for the plants before landscaping begins at Cole Ranch. The team will then purposefully replant the prairie plants in strategic locations.

As Cole Ranch is developed and the landscaping, trails and parks come to fruition, the team will return the native plants and soil to the site and bring natural landscaping back to the community.

Looking ahead: UNT students can also help maintain the ecosystem in the future, Baxter-Slye said. She added that her students will work with CCMC, a community management organization, to create educational materials for the community.

Westlake officials announced construction of a data center near Keller and Southlake, while Frisco officials gave initial approval for a mixed-use project anchored by Trader Joe’s. Check out six trending stories from Community Impact’s Dallas-Fort Worth coverage areas.

1. Westlake officials announce construction of data center near Keller, Southlake

2. Dave & Buster’s debuts 40,000-square-foot McKinney arcade, eatery

3. Frisco planning commission approves Trader Joe’s-anchored mixed-use project

4. EoS Fitness revises opening timeline for Celina location

5. Five restaurants now open, coming soon to Frisco

6. Taiwanese company Foxlink Group to bring 900 jobs to north Fort Worth

Across Texas, public school districts have approved at least 150 campus closures in the last three years as they grapple with declining enrollment, state accountability issues and hefty budget shortfalls.

What's happening: Among the closures are 56 schools in Community Impact’s coverage areas. Some districts have said that additional closures are not off the table.

Roughly 76,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools during the 2025-26 school year than the year prior. This marks the first non-pandemic enrollment drop in recorded history, according to Texas Education Agency data collected annually since 1987.

Analysts warn that this year’s enrollment decline is not a one-off, with demographics expert Bob Templeton predicting that enrollment could “drop over 100,000 kids” next year.

What they're saying: “This was a decision that I made, even knowing some of the challenges our students are going to face, because I think the alternative is untenable,” Fort Bend ISD board President Kristin Tassin said as the district voted to close seven elementary schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year.