1915 South Main LLC has purchased two buildings, totaling 12,970 square feet of residential and office space, at 215 and 219 S. Main St. in Fort Worth.

Tradition Senior Living LP will break ground Thursday on The Tradition-Lovers Lane, a high-end senior living community. The development will feature a 202-unit independent living complex and an adjacent 109-unit assisted living/memory care facility.

Karkaw Development Corp. has purchased a 390,400 square-foot multi-unit, residential building at 3101 and 3001 W. Normandale St. in Fort Worth.

Hillwood Communities had a burst of year-end activity, closing on 11 acquisitions in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Jose, Calif.; and Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Hillwood Communities, with partner Realty Capital, has broken ground on Harvest, a 1,000-acre mixed-use development that spans Northlake and Argyle at Interstate 35W and FM 407, near its Alliance project in North Fort Worth.

Among the “Private Properties” featured in today’s Wall Street Journal is Dallas’ version of Mount Vernon, the former Hunt mansion now owned by The Amend Group’s John Amend. A photo of the estate is included in a slide show, and it leads off a video report on “houses you know you can’t afford.”

After years of planning, Lancaster Urban Village, a transit-oriented development, is under construction and one big step closer to rebranding the area to spur revitalization and economic development.

The two sons of legendary North Texas businessman H.R. “Bum” Bright are taking a gamble, much like their famous father often did. This time, the brothers are betting on an overlooked economic generator—an upscale golf course—to enhance their signature real estate development.

Institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Asset Management have sold a 9.4-acre parcel in the Lakewood area of Dallas. Megatel Homes and development partner Centurion American Development Group plan to build about 60 luxury homes on the site.

Over the next two decades, a wave of us will choose to retire from the workforce and seek to secure long-term living and care arrangements for our golden years. Many predict that U.S. developers are already behind in planning for the demand from retirees.

Starting today, Dallas is hosting a leadership summit that aims to close the gap between education and jobs in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Meanwhile, The Tribute, a 1,500-acre masterplanned community along Lake Lewisville, is supporting the cause with a K-8 STEM academy slated to open in 2015.

For the second consecutive year, Parker ranks as the No. 1 suburb on D Magazine’s annual list, followed by Highland Village, Highland Park, University Park, and Colleyville.

JSK Business Service LLC has acquired Park Towne Villas, a a 90-unit apartment community located at 7117 Holly Hill Drive in Dallas.

Over the years I have given countless presentations to various residential brokers, mortgage bankers, and general real estate audiences. At the conclusion of my presentations, I try to leave each group with a lighthearted, somewhat personalized takeaway on the state of the market. What I’ve devised I casually refer to as “Chuck’s Lil’ HOTI.”

A Henry S. Miller partnership has acquired 3.6 acres at Forest Lane and Hillcrest Road, formerly the estate of Frito Co. founder C.E. Doolin. It plans to develop eight lots on the parcel and sell them to custom homebuilder Sharif & Munir.

Hillwood Communities has acquired 62 acres in the Woodcreek masterplanned community in Fate. The company bought the land from developer John Baker, and plans to develop about 216 lots on the site.

North Texas experienced continued improvement in new home sales, new home closings, and new home starts in the first quarter of 2012 according to statistics from Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc. This makes three consecutive quarters that market conditions have trended positive.

Thankfully, owners of rental apartments in Texas need not be concerned about government-mandated rent controls. But for those with investments in other areas that have such laws, the ramifications of a current challenge to rent control, aka “rent stabilization,” may be profound.

North Texas homebuilders ended 2011 on a positive note, starting 13,927 homes for the year, according to statistics from Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc. It’s the second consecutive quarter that the market has trended positive after bottoming in 2Q11 at 13,484 units.

Less than two months after merging her brokerage operation with Dave Perry-Miller’s under the Ebby Halliday Real Estate brand, high-end Dallas property doyenne Ellen Terry is bolting Ebby to join Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. Terry said she would become an executive vice president at Briggs Freeman, where she will also have the chance to do “mentoring and coaching” for Briggs, which has 153 residential agents.

Housing industry veteran Bobby Ray is leaving his post as group president of K. Hovnanian’s Texas and Florida markets after 12 years with the company. He said in a statement that he’s not retiring, just fulfilling a plan set in motion about 18 months ago.

Hillwood Communities has announced plans to add 104 single-family lots at Heritage by converting a commercial site within the project. The rezoning will create inventory in the new Elm Fork section of Heritage and include park improvements.

Two of the area’s premier real estate boutiques are merging in an effort to corral more market share in luxury housing. Ellen Terry, Realtors and Dave Perry-Miller & Associates, currently separate units of Ebby Halliday Real Estate Inc., will merge and operate under the Perry-Miller name, the companies will announce this morning. The new company will combine Terry’s 86 agents and single office (on Luther Lane), with Perry-Miller’s 195 agents at three offices (in Preston Center, Highland Park and on Routh Street).

Everyone is talking about a “double-dip” recession, but I’d like to think that feeling runs counter to what’s happening in commercial real estate. I’ve witnessed some good-sized land sales recently, along with a growing group of income properties closing, and I sense a trending upward.

There is tremendous pent-up demand for housing, but it is going to take time to work through our current inventory. At the end of the day it all comes down to one magic ingredient: job growth.