FORNEY, Texas — An approximate 140,000-square foot "big-box superstore," rumored to be Target, is eyeing Forney for development in a much-larger project proposing a 350,000-square-foot development, according to economic and development officials.

While those officials wouldn't confirm on the record who exactly the superstore is, one thing is for sure, where it will be located — The Shops at Forney Gateway located north of U.S. highway 80 at Gateway Boulevard.

The project has been in the works for more than a decade, having started development approximately 14 years ago, long before a $26 million bridge connected some 2,000 acres north and south of U.S. Highway 80 on Forney's eastside.

While the south side has exploded in recent years with warehousing and distribution development, retail and commercial development on the north side has been non-existent — leaving many to wonder the future plans for the project.

A new development sign at the site several months once again sparked that curiosity.

Edge Realty Partners Co-Founder and Managing Principal Brian Murphy tells inForney.com, since that market slow-down in 2009, Forney has only become more dense and more favorable for development.

Edge is currently developing and marketing pad sites south of the Farm-to-Market (FM) 548 and Ridgecrest Road. This development, expected to deliver by October 2023, proposes four FM 548-facing pad sites — including a proposed Dutch Bros. Coffee, space for an approximate-50,000-square-foot restaurant, automotive uses, and a quick-service fast-casual restaurant — in addition to three industrial buildings.

One of the key aspects of this development is the extension of Ridgecrest Road. The extension will run adjacent the northern edge of the development, across Reeder Road, across Gateway Boulevard, and ultimately connect to Concord Drive near Blackburn Elementary.

As for the Shops at Forney Gateway, Murphy says they have dedicated approximately 350,000-square-feet for retail, commercial, restaurant, and possibly entertainment uses — likening the development to one recently sold by the firm in Fort Worth, the Shops at Chisholm Trail Ranch.

Forney Economic Development Corporation Director Lynn Spencer tells inForney.com they are in discussions with several different businesses for the development, including the approximate-140,000-square-foot "big-box superstore," which has been dubbed Project Clifford by the corporation during confidential real estate, development, and possible incentive discussions by their board of directors.

Long rumored to anchor the development has been a Target — a rumor Spencer says she cannot confirm.

Spencer is expected to give an update and overview on the Shops at Forney Gateway on Thursday night during a regularly-scheduled meeting of the Forney Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors though, she says, she will still not be able to release a name at that time either.

Late last year, Target announced 30 new Target locations, a new store design, and larger footprint at approximately 150,000 square feet. Of the 30 new store locations announced, three are in Texas — Prosper at approximately 140,000 square feet, Portland at approximately 128,500 square feet, and New Caney at approximately 135,000 square feet. A typical Target location currently averages about 130,000 square feet, according to the retailer.

"After years of gleaning insights from our team members and guests, we're debuting a new larger-format store," read a statement from Target. "We'll continue opening stores of all sizes, with a focus on this larger footprint in the years ahead."

An announcement on the development is expected in the coming weeks, according to a source familiar with the project. Will Forney hit their Target?

Tom Thumb has disclosed plans to the state to build its first store in fast-growing Forney.

The grocery retailer, which is owned by Albertsons, has filed documents for plans to build a 63,000-square-foot store at the intersection of FM741 and FM548. The location is an empty field near Forney High School.

The company hasn’t responded to a request for details but said on the planning documents that it would open in February 2025. A developer made a presentation to Forney’s City Council three years ago about plans to include a Tom Thumb store in a project with apartments.

Kroger and Albertsons are in the process of trying to persuade government regulators to approve their intentions to merge their U.S. grocery operations. The overlap in stores in several markets, including Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth, is a major concern and could derail the companies’ plans. In the meantime, Kroger and Albertsons, which in addition to Tom Thumb also owns local Market Street stores, are moving ahead with each company’s remodeling and expansion plans.

D-FW Retail News

The latest on retail openings, closings and trends in D-FW.

Email Address

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Kroger built one of its first D-FW Marketplace stores in Forney in 2015. The store is 124,000 square feet and was merchandised to compete with the Walmart store that was already in Forney. Walmart last year kicked off the remodeling of 50 local stores with renovations at its Forney store.

Both stores are on U.S. Highway 80, which has become more congested with traffic as Forney and Kaufman County population growth rates have led North Texas.

H-E-B has purchased land in Forney, and while it was aggressively moving forward early last year and the city approved plans in March 2022, H-E-B hasn’t disclosed a timeline for that site. It has moved ahead with groundbreakings in Tarrant County in Mansfield and in Fort Worth’s Alliance development.

Forney approved H-E-B’s initial plans to build a 121,050-square-foot store on 15.4 acres east of FM548 and FM1641.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

Looking for more retail coverage? Click here to read all retail news and updates. Click here to subscribe to D-FW Retail and more newsletters from The Dallas Morning News.

FORNEY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – LeAsia Nation is still in disbelief.

"I would have never imagined that we got a call like I did," she said.

She said last week, Forney ISD notified her that her 5th grader at Rhodes Intermediate School may have ingested an edible given to him by another student. He thought it was candy.

"I asked her how was he doing?" Nation said. "How was he reacting? She explained that he was looking very tired, sleepy, but they checked his vitals down at the nurses and they said everything was okay with him."

Still, Nation took her son home and shortly after, he told her wasn't feeling well. She called 911 and he was taken to a hospital where doctors confirmed he had THC in his system.

"The doctor came back and explained that there was a poison unit that he had to contact because there's been many complaints, many issues with edibles and children actually eating the edibles," she said, shocked.

"I was angry," she said. "I was very upset."I feel like my son is in school where he is supposed to be safe and protected and treated with care. It just blew my mind."

A spokesperson for Forney ISD said:

While we do not normally share information about individual student issues, we did share reminders last week to talk to students about not sharing food through our campus parent newsletter.

It was reported that one student gave another student an "edible" during class. Our administrative team immediately pulled both students from the classroom to investigate. An empty sandwich bag was found but no evidence of drugs in any form. The nurse evaluated both students, and their parents were immediately notified. We can reassure families that all reports are taken seriously, investigated, and addressed promptly. Please encourage your students not to share food at school and to report concerning or suspicious behavior to a campus staff member or administrator.

Nation thinks more needs to be done.

"Whenever there's a situation that occurs, I feel that as a campus and someone that is in care of hundreds of children - notify every parent," she said.

"Forney ISD needs to let it be known that this is happening in elementary schools," Nation's mother, Tonja Buckley, said. "This could be happening in the high schools. No one knows because it's not being talked about and it makes no sense."

Erin Jones

Raised in Richardson, Erin Jones is proud to call North Texas home. Her passion for journalism began in elementary school. For a 5th grade graduation memory book, she was asked what do you want to be when you grow up? She wrote journalist.

Twitter Facebook Instagram

FORNEY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – A routine day turned out to be anything but for North Forney High School junior Charles Atwood.

It was at lunch when he started choking on a meatball and didn't know what to do. In exclusive video shared by Forney ISD with CBS News Texas, Atwood can be seen choking and pointing at his throat.

In an interview with CBS News Texas, he admits, "I was panicking ... gasping for air and stuff."

NFHS senior Gustavo Rubio was also in the cafeteria, close enough to know something was wrong. "I look at Charles choking and there's a student yelling 'teacher teacher teacher,'" Rubio said.

With no teachers in the immediate vicinity, Atwood becomes is frantic because he knows he's running out of time.

"Next thing you know, I fall back down. I lose complete control of my body and my eyesight goes black," he said.

"My thought was 'this is my time,'" Atwood said. "God has wanted me to come up to heaven."

But Rubio was not about to let that happen. He raced over, lifted Atwood onto his feet and performed the Heimlich maneuver. He learned the life-saving skill during his time as a volunteer with the Rockwall Fire Department.

Sharon Russell, the school nurse at NFHS, was in her office when she was alerted that a student was choking. She's thankful Rubio was in the right place at the right time.

"I did cry. I was so overwhelmed with it all, even when I got home that day," she said.

Adding to the emotion is the fact that Rubio, a senior defensive end for the school's football team, didn't just save a friend – he saved a teammate.

"We tell everybody, when you wake up in the morning, God gives you two things. He gives you a chance and a choice," NFHS football head coach Eric Luster said. "Right then and there, that guy made a choice to give him another chance."

When asked how the adulation of everyone complimenting him on something that seemed to come naturally, Rubio answers, "It feels amazing. A lot of people just look at me and just point and say, 'you're a hero.' It makes me feel good inside."

It might've been Rubio's first chance to save a life, but it won't be his last. We will enter the DeSoto Fire Academy upon graduation in May, with a goal of being a full time firefighter and EMT.

"That's what my parents haven't always told me. Make a difference, wherever you go. It doesn't matter if it's small or big. just make a difference," Rubio said.

All too often, we've seen examples of young lives taken too soon. It's rejuvenating for the soul to witness the good that still exists in young people.

Atwood urges people to "block out all the negativity and bring it back positive, because you can put out kindness and kindness can come back to you."

Atwood and Rubio will always share a bond, because of one special moment that changed both of their lives forever.

Keith Russell

Keith Russell is our morning news anchor and was a sports anchor/reporter for CBS11 starting in 2015.

Twitter Facebook

FORNEY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Some students at North Forney High School walked out of class on Friday.

It was over the resignation of a teacher who says she quit because of the way the school district handled her sexual harassment complaint.

Raising their fists and marching through the hallways, some students at North Forney High School staged a walkout Friday, calling for justice for CJ.

CJ is Carolyn Jordon, who surprised her students and fellow teachers when she made the decision earlier this week to quit the job she loved.

"I really wanted to be a teacher, because I discovered a passion for helping teenagers specifically," Jordon said.

It was Jordon's first job in teaching.

But behind the smile, outside classroom and away from the students she loved, Jordon says the last six months were a nightmare.

"It was extremely harmful, it's hard for me to open up a lot," she said. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

The 25-year-old says she was subjected to sexual harassment from a fellow teacher and documented the messages.

"He started small with inappropriate comments then it progressed more into asking for hugs," she said. "I had to push him back and then eventually escalated to a point that I felt so uncomfortable I broke down in front of a couple of administrators."

Forney ISD investigated and told us that "Multiple female employees, including Ms. Jordon, provided information about inappropriate comments made by a male employee. The district promptly initiated an investigation into those reports and the male employee resigned..."

But that wasn't the end of it.

Jordon felt betrayed for coming forward because the district's Title IX coordinator determined that what happened to her and other teachers did not rise to the level of sexual harassment.

"There would have been a thorough investigation of both sides and there would've been a public report available," she said. "He can go on and just keep harassing women at every job he goes to but if there's a Title IX report, at least maybe there's a possibility that more people will know and he can't hurt more people."

Forney ISD says it's investigation "...was immediately reported to the Texas Education Agency to ensure that his behaviors will not be continued at another school district."

Jordon says that only applies to school jobs in Texas and believes Forney ISD is more worried about protecting its image.

She also says in recent weeks she's felt retaliation.

"I had like three different administrators come up and tell me how to submit a letter of resignation, they gave me a deadline as to when I had to dye my hair," Jordon said.

So this week, Jordon decided to resign.

Even though her former students continue to support her, she says the experience has left her disillusioned and unsure about a future in teaching.

"I was pursuing my certification after this, I've just lost so much faith in especially the school system here."

J.D. Miles

J.D. Miles is an award-winning reporter who has been covering North Texas for CBS 11 since 1996.

Twitter Facebook