Update:
This story is part of Boomtowns, a look at some of the cities surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth that are attracting the interest of homebuilders, businesses and new residents as the area grows.
Midlothian’s cement and steel industries form the foundation of a growing city
The city has stayed true to its roots by reinvesting in its downtown heritage.
By Irene Wright
MIDLOTHIAN — In 1996, Richard Reno moved his family some 40 miles from Richardson, one of Dallas’ heavily populated inner-ring suburbs, to Midlothian, then a town with fewer than 10,000 residents.
Drawn by Midlothian’s school district and its convenience to the VA hospital and DFW International Airport, his family made the town their home. Almost three decades later, Reno’s children are grown, his grandchildren are in school, and he is Midlothian’s mayor.
Reno has a quintessential Midlothian story. Many families move to the city about 26 miles south of downtown Dallas and stay for generations. High schoolers leave to go to college, but they find their way back.
“I see a lot of these former graduates coming back home with young families,” Reno said.
A look at Midlothian in images
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But it was the cement industry that first got Midlothian noticed.
In 1959, Texas Industries started construction on a cement plant in Midlothian and it expanded rapidly to keep up with demand from construction of DFW Airport in the late 1960s, said City Manager Chris Dick. Midlothian was dubbed the “Cement Capital of Texas,” a name it has kept to this day.
“The cement industry came to town, so that’s obviously been a big cornerstone of the community for years now. And then that grew into the steel mill that we have that came in the ‘70s,” Dick said. “That brought the industrial aspect to the community in addition to the farming and agricultural community.”
The Gerdau Midlothian Steel Mill employs over 1,000 people. Kyle Kinateder, president of Midlothian Economic Development Corp., said it also helped build a strong tax base.
“We really benefited,” Kinateder said. “One of the things that differentiated Midlothian from the neighboring districts is that we had this very strong, stable tax base.”
That tax base has translated into a growing school system, with many teachers and administrators living in the district.
But, as with many surrounding cities, there’s still a daily exodus of people who work in Dallas or Fort Worth. City leaders said 87% of residents leave for work, and nearly a fourth of them travel up to 50 miles.
“It’s important for a lot of our residents to have that quick access into the metroplex because that’s where a lot of jobs that they’re going to are,” Dick said. “We have an interesting dynamic. We have a lot of people that come into our community to work at some more industrial facilities, and we have a lot of people that leave to go to work.”
Midlothian, now home to just over 37,000 residents, is working to find a balance of commercial, retail and residential development. It has been reinvesting in its downtown historical area and places that bring the community together. In 2020, the City Council passed a redevelopment master plan that will include updates to city buildings, the library, the school district buildings, the safety center and police station, and City Hall.
One project, Founders Row, takes old, historical houses and turns them into restaurants with indoor/outdoor eating spaces or small businesses. The first restaurant is already open, and others are in progress.
Projects like this help Midlothian hold onto its heritage, Dick said.
“We were drawn to a quiet town,” he said. “It’s got that small-town charm that we still try to hold on to even though we’re growing rapidly.”
MIDLOTHIAN AT A GLANCE
Population: Estimated 37,053, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
Location: 26 miles south of downtown Dallas
Racial demographics: 74.5% white, 13.5% Hispanic, 6.6% Black, according to U.S. Census Bureau
Median household income: $95,603, according to the U.S. Census Bureau
Median existing home sale price: $489,500, according to Redfin
Median new construction sale price: $570,135, according to Residential Strategies
Annual single-family home starts: 639 through second-quarter 2022, according to Residential Strategies
School district: Midlothian ISD
Master-planned communities: RREAF Holdings plans to build 8,500 single-family homes and 3,000 rentals just south of the intersection of FM663 and FM875. In 2021, Hanover Property Co. announced plans for Bridgewater, a $950 million development that would eventually include 2,000 single-family homes along with 160 townhomes, 68 acres of commercial and industrial development.
Retail: Midlothian has a cluster of retailers such as Kroger, Chick-fil-A and Aldi at U.S. Highway 287 and Ninth Street along with a Walmart at U.S. Highway 67 and Main Street and a collection of small businesses downtown.
Festivals and events: The city regularly hosts heritage events downtown, concerts in the amphitheater and various community events.
History lesson: Most people agree that the name Midlothian was suggested by a Scottish train engineer after a location in his home country, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
Meet the next North Texas boomtowns
As Dallas-Fort Worth grows, smaller cities in every direction are attracting the attention of builders and new residents. Here are some of the ones to watch.
