What’s Coming to Gunter? The City Development Tracker

Gunter used to feel like the quiet stop on State Highway 289 between Celina’s boom and Sherman’s plants. That era is over. Dirt is moving on a nearly thousand-acre rail park. A multi-thousand-home master plan is financing streets and utilities west of Preston Road. Gunter ISD is finishing bond projects while more rooftops line up behind them. Friday nights still fill the stands—but the weekday commute is changing.

This is a Gunter-only status board as of early September 2026. The City of Gunter lists a 2020 Census population of 2,060 and a 2022 estimate of about 2,500. Treat later third-party city projections as unofficial unless the Census Bureau or city posts a newer figure. (City of Gunter Demographics)

For the countywide map, use our complete development tracker. For Sherman’s chip-and-housing board, see What’s Coming to Sherman?. For Denison’s downtown-and-lake board, see What’s Coming to Denison?. For how these pieces fit together, read Grayson County Is Changing: The 10 Projects Reshaping Our Future. If you are still choosing a town, start with Moving to Grayson County.

How to use this tracker: “Under construction” means dirt, steel, or pavement is actively moving. “Approved / breaking ground” means entitlements or groundbreaking are real, but vertical build may still be early. “Proposed / in planning” means council votes, marketing, or developer plans—not finished neighborhoods. “Watch list” means keep an eye on it; timelines are soft. Company investment and job figures are labeled as claims where noted.

Under construction

BNSF Logistics Center North Dallas

Place: Near State Highway 289 / Preston Road, roughly an hour north of Dallas
What: A 944-acre multi-customer, multi-commodity, rail-served industrial park. Local TV and trade coverage put Phase 1 investment near $500 million.
Status: Official groundbreaking March 12, 2026, with Mayor Karen Souther and Grayson County Judge Bruce Dawsey among those present. BNSF says Phase 1 construction is expected to take about 19 months. KXII reported rail operations targeted for roughly a year after groundbreaking—treat both as company/local estimates, not a fixed opening day on the calendar. A July 2025 path between the city and railroad (after earlier zoning conflict and litigation) includes a 500–800 foot buffer from existing homes plus lighting and sound limits. Longer-term figures such as “over 6,000 jobs” and “$1 billion+” economic impact are BNSF projections, not independent tallies. Additional zoning and platting phases remain ahead, per city and railroad statements.
Why it matters: A city of a few thousand people is absorbing a regional freight park. Truck and rail traffic on 289, school enrollment, and tax base will feel that before every pad is leased. ( BNSF news release; KXII; Trains.com / Fort Worth Report summaries of the buffer agreement; prior GCL BNSF coverage )

Platinum Ranch — infrastructure for Improvement Area #1

Place: West of Preston Road / SH 289 in and around Gunter (Centurion American master plan)
What: Large master-planned residential community. Special-assessment bond materials describe about 1,715 acres and roughly 4,224 single-family lots at full build-out. Improvement Area #1 is about 242 acres planned for 962 homes on a mix of 50-, 60-, and 70-foot lots. Plans also call for amenity centers; Centurion materials have described additional villas, mixed-use acreage, and green space as longer-term components—treat those as plans until dirt and entitlements match them.
Status: Infrastructure construction for Improvement Area #1 and the Major Improvement Area began in Q1 2026, with completion targeted for Q2 2027. In August 2026, FMSbonds priced about $61.7 million in special-assessment bonds ($50 million for Improvement Area #1 and about $11.7 million for the Major Improvement Area). Centurion has named D.R. Horton, Lennar, First Texas Homes, and Coventry Homes for the first 962 lots, with lot deliveries to builders targeted around mid-2027. Full build-out lot and job counts are developer/bond projections.
Why it matters: Thousands of homes would reshape 289 and FM 121 traffic, Gunter ISD capacity, and the daily feel of a town that still posts a Census count in the low thousands. ( FMSbonds; Centurion American )

Gunter ISD — May 2022 bond finish-outs

Place: District campuses and 100 W. Pecan Street
What: Remaining May 2022 bond projects after the new elementary and secondary additions already completed in prior years.
Status: Per the district’s bond-progress site: football field turf finished May 2026; high-school restroom renovations and the Tiger Lane secondary access road (connection to Kerfoot Drive) finished August 2026. Baseball and softball turf was scheduled May–August 2026—confirm against the latest board update before assuming every field is playable. Restoration of the old Gunter schoolhouse as an administration building runs roughly May 2026–January 2027. A home football stands safety cover and storage addition remains in planning.
Why it matters: School construction is the clearest near-term signal of how fast families are arriving—and where Friday-night traffic will stack. ( Gunter ISD Bond Progress )

Approved / early market

Chase Oaks — nine custom lots

Place: Gunter area (developer materials describe homesites just off the main road)
What: Small custom community of nine roughly one-acre homesites; bring-your-builder or preferred builders; marketing highlights no city taxes and utilities at each lot.
Status: Developer page markets a Fall 2026 debut. This is a marketing timeline—verify plats, permits, and available lots before treating any homesite as ready to buy.
Why it matters: Not every Gunter growth story is a 4,000-lot map. Small acreage products still pull DFW buyers who want space and Gunter ISD. ( Gunter Land / Chase Oaks )

Preston Trail Farms — Bar & Steakhouse

Place: 15102 TX-289, Gunter
What: Expansion of the longtime farm destination (general store, cafe, seasonal attractions) into a bar and steakhouse concept.
Status: As of late August 2026 coverage, Preston Trail Farms was hiring leadership to open Preston Trail Bar & Steakhouse. No public opening date was announced then. The Trails Cafe remains the operating food service on site.
Why it matters: Evening dining options on 289 still lag rooftop growth; a steakhouse would be a lifestyle signal, not a finished restaurant until doors open. ( Prior GCL coverage; Preston Trail Farms )

Proposed / in planning

Taylor Ranch

Place: West of Preston Road (289), near Foy Wallace / Westman corridor in the Gunter growth path
What: Lifestyle / lake-oriented residential concept that has drawn local attention (prior GCL coverage described a private-lake community still in early stages).
Status: As of our April 2026 GCL update, Taylor Ranch was still in a pre-launch phase—approvals and infrastructure talk without a major consumer marketing push or active home sales. Treat as a watch item until builders, plats, or model homes appear publicly.
Why it matters: Early rumors travel faster than permits. Do not buy or budget as if homes are for sale until marketing and city records agree. ( Prior GCL Taylor Ranch piece )

Watch list

BNSF Phase 1 clock: ~19 months from March 2026 groundbreaking puts a rough late-2027 construction window—verify against BNSF and city updates, not rumor calendars.
Platinum Ranch lot deliveries: Mid-2027 builder lot targets; first move-ins will lag deliveries.
Gunter ISD capacity: Bond finish-outs help today’s campuses; thousands of Platinum Ranch rooftops would reopen the conversation about future schools and zones.
SH 289 / FM 121 traffic: Freight construction trucks and new residential trips stack on the same spines that already carry Celina-to-Sherman traffic.
Neighbor projects that still affect Gunter daily life: Preston Crossings / The Bridges housing on FM 121 and continued U.S. 75 work through Van Alstyne–Howe–Sherman sit outside city limits but show up in commute time. See the county tracker.

What it means for newcomers and locals

Pick the Gunter you want, then pick the project nearest your street. A Friday-night Tigers game and a quiet acreage lot are a different daily rhythm than living next to a rail-served industrial park or waiting on the first Platinum Ranch model homes. Ask about Gunter ISD attendance zones, whether your driveway feeds onto 289 at peak construction hours, and whether a “coming soon” neighborhood is bonded infrastructure or only a map.

Gunter’s growth story is not Sherman’s chip headlines and not Denison’s lake resort pitch. It is a small city negotiating how much freight, how many rooftops, and how much of its Friday-night identity can share the same stretch of Preston Road. Treat groundbreaking photos and bond calendars as milestones to verify—not finished neighborhoods.

How to follow city and school agendas

City of Gunter: guntertx.gov (City Hall: 105 N. 4th Street). Watch council agendas for zoning, platting, and PID updates tied to industrial and residential growth.
Gunter ISD: Bond construction board at gisdbondprogress.com; district site and BoardBook agendas for votes.
BNSF: Company news releases for Logistics Center North Dallas milestones.
County context: Grayson County Line’s county and Sherman/Denison trackers for projects that sit just outside city limits but drive Gunter traffic.

Sources

City of Gunter — Demographics page (2020 Census / 2022 city estimate)
BNSF Railway — Logistics Center North Dallas groundbreaking release (March 12, 2026)
KXII — BNSF groundbreaking coverage (March 12, 2026)
Trains.com / Fort Worth Report — July 2025 buffer agreement summaries
FMSbonds — Platinum Ranch ~$61.7M special-assessment bonds (Aug. 2026)
Centurion American — first-phase builder selection and lot-delivery targets
Gunter ISD Bond Progress — turf, Tiger Lane, restrooms, schoolhouse admin restoration
Gunter Land LLC — Chase Oaks marketing page
Prior Grayson County Line coverage — BNSF hub, Taylor Ranch, Preston Trail Farms steakhouse, county development tracker

Grayson County Line will keep updating Gunter pieces that actually change status. If a city project, school opening, or neighborhood phase goes live that we missed, send the date and the street.