10412 Inwood Road is the Finest Estate Lot in Lobello Estates
This Lobello Estates Property is one of the Best in the Dallas Estate Neighborhoods
The property in Lobello Estates at 10412 Inwood Road is one of the most attractive sites in the Dallas estate area. People always overestimate how many large estate lots there are in Dallas. The greater Preston Hollow estate area is the only Dallas area that has several neighborhoods with lots that are predominately on one acre or larger. However, since these lots are large, they take up a large swathe of geographic area, but the number of lots in each neighborhood remains very limited. Also, each time a new home is built on one of these lots, the potential inventory of lots to build a new home shrinks.
Summer View of Rear Gardens, Terraces, Pool, Tennis Court of 10412 Inwood Road in Lobello Estates
Estate Lots Between 1.5 Acres and 2 Acres are Even More Rare
One-acre estate lots are limited, and estate properties on 1.5 acres to 2 acres are even more rare. And like everything else of value, there are differences in the quality and desirability of each lot. If diamonds are evaluated by the three C’s – clarity, cut, carats – estate lots can be evaluated by the three L’s – location, level, and look.
Amplitude is Important – the Three L’s of a Lot Determine the Value
The amplitude of a lot is what real estate brokers look at first, and sometimes it is the only thing that is really taken into consideration when determining the value of land. Standard appraisals are based on how big a lot is in either total square footage or acreage. Properties are offered for sale at a price per square foot or a price per acre.
Buyers Pay for Quality
My experience has been that the price a buyer will pay for a lot varies widely, depending on the specific qualities of a lot. For instance, two lots can be in the same neighborhood or almost next to each other and they bring widely different prices.
The Location of a Lot – its Specific Site – Greatly Impacts its Value
Most people think of a location as a general area, like the township of Highland Park, or a large neighborhood like the Preston Hollow estate area, or a small neighborhood like White Rock Lake. However, lots within these large or small areas still differ greatly in desirability. When I think of a lot location, I am thinking of how a lot is sited within the neighborhood. What is the lot surrounded by? At one extreme, a property might be at the intersection of a tollway and a highway. And on the other extreme, it is buried in a neighborhood where one has to stop at a dozen stop signs and a couple of traffic lights just to emerge from the neighborhood and reach a good thoroughfare.
The Best Lots Have Good Access and Tranquility
The best lots in the estate area have quick access to the best private schools, Highland Park Village, the Dallas Arts District and yet are sited in a peaceful setting surrounded by other large lots and architecturally significant homes.
Lot Level and Topography
Another key consideration is the level of the lot. Is part or all of the lot in a flood plain? Also, what is the topography of the land? Some lots are as level and flat as a football field, with no topographical or visual points of interest. Other lots have gnarly overgrown gullies and ravines that are havens for mosquitoes, spiders, snakes and bobcats, but are fairly hostile environments for a family’s everyday outdoor enjoyment.
Best Lots Have a Pleasing Topography
The best lots have a pleasing topography, a gentle hill, a terraced lawn, views of trees from the nearby estate lots and groomed mature and ornamental trees that create a pleasing environment for one’s home the entire year.
Robust for Family Athletics, Elegant for Refined Outdoor Entertaining
The Look of a Lot Should Immediately Enthrall
Some lots may be on an acre of land, but they are so narrow that to use the land one feels they would need to have a golf cart at the back door to get to the lawn in the distance. Other well‑proportioned lots are enticing visually and beckon one to explore the tennis court, swimming pool, zip lines, terraces, porches, trellises and pavilions, each separated and immersed in nature, but only an enticing short stroll away.
Often underrated are the quality of trees on a site. Sure, an owner can bring in at great expense large trees on flatbeds and cranes, but these trees are still not 50- or 100-year-old live oaks. The look of a lot is greatly influenced by how many trees and how well placed they are. On some lots you will find random overgrown volunteer trees and trees that have some age but are not well placed. On other lots there will be mature trees that were perfectly placed years ago by a landscape architect. I have seen some homebuyers spend almost as much money landscaping a property as they did on the cost of building their new home.
The Property at 10412 Inwood Road is a Great Example of Superior Location, Level and Look
The Location of this Site in Lobello Estates is Exemplary
Some of the best located lots are like 10412 Inwood Road - hidden in plain sight. The location of 10412 Inwood Road is a perfect example of this. It has an Inwood address, a street with some of the largest estate lots in Dallas. It is also right across the street from the daily Inwood Road entrance of the Ross Perot several-acre Strait Lane estate property. The North Dallas Tollway, just a half mile away, absorbs the heavy traffic, leaving Inwood Road to be a convenient direct artery to the private schools for the residents and the neighborhoods from Greenway Parks to Lobello Estates. Even the winding nature of Inwood Road makes it more pleasant to travel along than the monotony of the iconic street of Strait Lane, which as the name suggests, is straight. What is particularly nice about the property of 10412 Inwood Road is that it is on the corner of Inwood Road and Yolanda Lane, with the private entrance on Yolanda, an extremely quiet and untraveled street. Also, this lot sits at the end of a curve on Inwood Road, making Inwood Road almost disappear. This lot location provides easy access to the best parts of Dallas and Highland Park, and yet you enter the property from what feels like a country lane – Yolanda Lane. Once on the property one forgets one is even in a Dallas neighborhood.
The Location of this Site is Further Enhanced by Lobello Estates having a Concentration of New Architecturally Significant Modern Homes
Another attractive element of this lot is that it is located in Lobello Estates which has many recently built architecturally significant modern homes designed by Dallas’s best architects including Cliff Welch, Bodron/Fruit and Scott Specht. Right next door is a home being designed by architect Russell Buchanan. Russell has already designed the guest pavilion on this property that was the prototype for A Tasteful Place at the Dallas Arboretum. There are few small protected neighborhoods like Lobello Estates that have so many award-winning architects designing new Dallas modern homes.
The Lot Level and Topography of 10412 Inwood Road is Exquisite
The topography of this Lobello Estates lot is nuanced. The slightly rolling land is discreet but lovely. A three-foot terraced rear corner section of the lot breaks up the great expanse of the lawn and creates greater intimacy with the land. There are no gullies or dry creek beds that may flood or take down trees during heavy rains. The best lots are those that look like they have been kissed by nature, like this property at 10412 Inwood Road.
The Look of 10412 Inwood Road is Immediately Pleasing
This home at 10412 Inwood Road in Lobello Estates has always fascinated me. It is not the largest or grandest home in Preston Hollow or even architecturally interesting, yet this is the home that for 15 years has been the location for most of the Hockaday and St. Marks family and student parties. Why, when there are so many great homes of private school parents to choose from, do the private school families always gravitate to this home at 10412 Inwood Road? The reason is the extraordinary environment and look of this property. The property exudes nature and recreational activities such as swimming and tennis and has the added appeal of a tree-canopied lawn that wraps around the property. It helps that Sebastian Construction added onto the home, creating a delightful large informal living room, kitchen, bar, fireplace and covered terrace that looks over the lovely land and areas of recreational activities. But the attraction is still this beautiful property and peaceful environment.
Perfectly Placed Trees also Enhance the Look of the Property
On this 1.75-acre lot there are 24 mature trees with a circumference of 60 inches to 120 inches. Lambert Landscape, the top landscape architects in Dallas 50 years ago, selected the placement of each tree in relationship to the lot and the existing mature pecan trees from the original pecan orchard from which Lobello Estates was created. This provided a landscape of perfectly placed mature trees that are 50 to 100 years old that we now enjoy. Ten of these trees are in front of the house and 14 are in the rear gardens. Eleven mature crepe myrtles are in the front yard and 30 more crepe myrtles are placed around the perimeter, inside and outside of the privacy wall. In addition, 40 Wannamaker Magnolias line the perimeter of the home, adding visual appeal from the street and from the property. At night these trees are illuminated by a lighting system installed by Lentz Landscape Lighting in 2020. While many estate homes have what look like an old abandoned tennis court, this home has a tennis court resurfaced in 2020 in green and blue with half-court basketball goals. Rather than dominate the view, one has to almost look to see this tennis court that is close by but surrounded by trees. Just walking onto this property, the look of this lot makes one smile.
