PEOPLE
2 0 2 2 A N N U A L C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E
LauraWheat
WESTLAKE AT A GLANCE
Longtime Westlake mayor discusses town’s opportunities, challenges entering 2022
Median income $250,000+
Population 1,623
69.1% have bachelor's degree or higher among population age 25 and older
BY STEVEN RYZEWSKI
Average market value of homes $2,111,456
Laura Wheat has been mayor of Westlake since 2008, helping to guide the town through its own residential and commercial growth as the metroplex has experienced tremendous growth around it. Wheat spoke to Community Impact Newspaper about Westlake’s lessons from 2021, opportunities for 2022 and more. WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS YOU TOOK FROM2021? While Zoom is great, there’s no developed, which means we’re 50% undeveloped, and there is lots of
SOURCES: TARRANT APPRAISAL DISTRICT, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Laura Wheat
longhorns on it forever. So that is a real opportunity for us to try and manage expectations and to nd common ground. WHATMAKESWESTLAKE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE? You have to start with people. ... We come from all di erent walks of life, all di erent parts of the world, literally ... but we do love living in Westlake, and there’s a commonality to that, which is really special. ... Westlake Academy is a huge driver for folks coming to Westlake. We, as a town, own the school. ... It’s truly our crown jewel.
o erings, and that’s going to be just a great addition to Westlake. HOWDO YOUAPPROACH THE TOWN’S UNDEVELOPED LAND? The 50% undeveloped part represents an opportunity and a challenge. … People have di erent expectations. Oftentimes, our stakeholders have competing needs and competing expectations. So, managing those is a real challenge. ... Hillwood—a wonderful corporate partner—owns the vast majority of our undeveloped land. They, of course, have di erent ideas for it than the folks who want to see
change in the air. We’ve got new housing opportunities, which are coming out of the ground as we speak. So, I’m excited about wel- coming new neighbors. Entrada, the Catalonian-style development at the corner of Davis Boulevard and Hwy. 114—that’s been a long time in taking shape, but the developer is making real progress. As soon as the access road allows for access into the back of Entrada, those restaurants will be opening up. … Larry North [Fitness] is being replaced by Lifetime Fitness, so it’s growing in signi cant size and
substitute for being in the room, so I guess the fact that we were able to get everyone back into the classroom [at Westlake Academy] ... we’re back in the council chambers, our town o ces—everyone’s back in the room together. We’re just operating so much more e ciently [and] e ectively than we were able to do remotely. WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE TOWN? The town of Westlake is just 50%
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KELLER ROANOKE NORTHEAST FORT WORTH EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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