City leaders excited for booming growth in Celina

Nestled between the ‘Golden Corridor’ of Highway 289 Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway inching ever closer, Celina continues to prosper.

“We are growing leaps and bounds,” said Celina City Manager Robert Ranc.

The northwest Collin County community has exploded in population over the past few years, from around 20,000 residents a handful of years ago to approximately 43,000 today and 100,000 residents predicted by the end of the decade, according to city projections.

“I think everybody wants to move to Celina because it’s a place where you can raise your family,” said Celina Mayor Ryan Tubbs.

Tubbs is six months into his first term as mayor and says he was previously active in his HOA.

The city’s new leader points to its sought-after schools, commitment to public safety and business-friendly environment as part of its success.

Former mayor Sean Terry helped lure big-box store Costco to the flourishing community.

Tubbs is equally enthusiastic about smaller businesses like a new Chiptole in town and a new steak house coming soon to the town square.

According to a George W. Bush Institute essay on how income migration is reshaping North Texas, from 2020-2021 net migration to Collin County from Dallas, Tarrant and Denton Counties added just over 4,000 tax-filing households and over $300 million to taxable income.

With more people, come more homes.

Building permits for new starts fell in 2023 to 1,800 before ending the year back up to 2,500 permits issued, according to Ranc.

“We’re leading a lot of the metroplex by 30-40%,” added Tubbs.

Approximately 70% of homes in Celina are located in HOA subdivisions.

These leaders say the city is prepared to handle the growth, ensuring infrastructure doesn’t lag behind.

“We’re building roads, we’re building water treatment plants, we’re making sure our water and our power are set up for growth,” said Ranc.

A big economic driver, he says, will be the completion of the Dallas North Tollway expansion from Highway 380 to 428 where a Methodist Hospital is under construction.

The NTTA’s segment 4B phase has been awarded, according to the city.

The city’s focus will be on building roads, adding U-turns and turn lanes across its 80 square mile area.

A fourth elementary school is being built in a district that expects to grow from approximately 4,000 students to 15,000 by the end of the decade, according to Tubbs.

Tubbs and Ranc say they look to other growing communities to learn from their success and things they want to avoid as Celina continues to take shape.

The challenge now, Ranc says is “just making sure we have a vision."