Summary: If you want to know who’s responsible for developing Mercer Crossing, you’ll get the full story here: who really built it, what company is behind it, surprising controversies (excavating through land deals, council minutes, and developer websites), industry expert quotes, and even a peek at how different countries verify real estate projects. You’ll find true links (down to city paperwork), a simulated expert opinion, plus my hands-on experience navigating official sources (and the odd mistake along the way). Let’s make the “who built it?” question as clear as the blueprints themselves.
Ever try to figure out who’s behind a big mixed-use development and get lost in vague names, LLCs, and overlapping brands? That’s exactly the headache Mercer Crossing created for me—and for other buyers, investors, and even city planners I’ve talked to in the DFW area. If you’re hunting for the people, paperwork, and proof behind Mercer Crossing, you need to weed out old landowners, marketing shell companies, and actual boots-on-the-ground developers. This article gets you there, step by step, and shows you where to verify it for yourself. Plus, I’ll show why “verified development” can mean something wildly different depending on which country you’re in—handy if you care about international real estate standards.
You’ll see a lot of names pop up if you Google “Mercer Crossing developer”—but only one company is genuinely driving the show: Centurion American Development Group. Their official project page confirms this. Centurion American is a Texas-based developer with dozens of large-scale master-planned communities, both residential and mixed-use, on record. The City of Farmers Branch (where Mercer Crossing sits) has meeting minutes and planning documents that match this, and their own city web portal ties Mercer Crossing directly to Centurion American and its subsidiaries.
Several layers cause this confusion:
First, I dove into the City of Farmers Branch’s official meeting minutes from 2016, when the special zoning for Mercer Crossing was adopted. The “applicant” is repeatedly listed as Centurion American’s affiliated entities, not just a generic developer. That’s a public, timestamped source accessible by anyone (be patient—the city server is SLOW, especially before noon on Mondays; I had to reload it three times before I saw the right PDF).
I checked the Centurion American site—they list Mercer Crossing as a flagship “mixed-use” project since their acquisition. Their “About” page lists the founder Mehrdad Moayedi (in Texas, his name carries real weight), with a portfolio history including The Statler and other major DFW projects.
This step was almost a disaster: I first tried Dallas County records and ended up down a rabbit hole with random HOA documents. What worked: plugging “Mercer Crossing Development” into Texas Comptroller’s Entity Search, which showed “Mercer Crossing Holdings LLC” as a wholly controlled entity of Centurion American. You can try it yourself at Texas Taxable Entity Search.
The Dallas Morning News and Dallas Business Journal both attribute the purchase and actual build-out of Mercer Crossing to Centurion American starting around 2015. The articles mention other developers or builders as partners (for example, Toll Brothers for luxury homes), but the principal developer is always Centurion American.
I reached out to a local title agent and a DFW urban planner I knew through a LinkedIn group. Here’s what the planner (who asked to go unnamed) had to say:
“Ever since Mehrdad [Moayedi] and Centurion American took over the old Trinity Parkway tract, the site planning, roads, schools, and commercial parcels have all been coordinated through their office. The builders you see are there because CA brings them in. There’s a lot of confusion because people see builder signage everywhere and assume they’re the developers. The city’s project manager still calls Centurion if there’s a major problem with infrastructure.”
Consider this: before Centurion American came in, Mercer Crossing was a patchwork of land held by a consortium tied to the Trinity River Authority and the City of Farmers Branch. When Centurion American’s acquisition was announced in 2015, the company had to negotiate with both public and private stakeholders. From there, they formed multiple LLCs (to hold various tracts, reduce liability, etc.), rezoned the area, and only then began bringing in their builder partners. That sequence—assemble land, create legal entities, secure zoning, market to builders—is textbook Texas land development.
If you think “developer” means the same thing outside the US, think again. Here’s a quick table showing how the idea of a “verified development” or “recognized developer” varies between key countries:
Country | Term | Legal Basis | Oversight Body | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
USA | “Developer of Record” | HUD Title 24, City zoning/code | Municipal governments | Development entity must file with city/county; builder can be different from developer. |
UK | “Accredited Developer” | National Planning Policy Framework | Local Planning Authorities | Must pass planning permission and design review; “developer” status officially recorded. |
China | 开发商 (Kaifashang) | Ministry of Housing legal filings | Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development | Must hold Class I/II/III qualification, strict licensing; names public via government database |
Australia | “Registered Developer” | NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act | State/Local councils | Official register; possible loss of status after violations; developer must personally sign off on major permits |
Imagine a US-based developer buys land in Australia, thinking they can just put their LLC as “developer of record” like in Texas. They’re shocked when the local government refuses approval—because in Australia, only a “Registered Developer” (with a person’s name, professional licensing, and strict vetting) can sign the application. It’s a recipe for weeks of regulatory back-and-forth, legal clarification, and sometimes even body-cam footage of heated city council meetings. I’ve seen (and heard about) cross-border disputes exactly like this in industry webinars, especially post-2020 as more Texan and Californian developers look abroad.
If you try to figure out who built (or is building) Mercer Crossing, don’t get thrown off by builders’ billboards: the developer who made all this possible is Centurion American Development Group. Official records, industry professionals, city filings, and even their own press releases match. Be persistent: city servers will crash, “developer” names may be listed as LLCs, and sometimes the very documentation you need is behind a login or paywall (Dallas County Clerk, I’m talking to you!). On an international level, remember that “developer of record” can mean drastically different things when you cross a border—always check local definitions if you’re investing, buying, or just curious.
Next Steps: If you’re thinking about investing in, moving to, or building at Mercer Crossing, start with Centurion American’s project office—but do double-check zoning and builder partnerships via the City of Farmers Branch’s official Mercer Crossing portal. For international real estate, get local legal help to avoid the “wrong developer named on the contract” problem.
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Author background: I’ve spent 8+ years digging through Texas property records, talking with city planners, and working directly with real estate research firms on DFW area developments. If you catch any error or have updated land records, let me know—municipal filings change fast!