Though the newly unveiled M3 Ranch housing development in southwest Mansfield is clearly impressive – 1,600-homes-to-be mixed with a smidge of retail and a lot of amenities – the game plan for making it happen isn’t one likely to be frequently emulated. It went like this: Buy nine...

Developers are breaking ground this week on a 900-acre residential development in Mansfield, southwest of Arlington. Called M3 Ranch, the project is being developed by the area’s McCaslin family and Dallas-based Hanover Property Co. Located on Heritage Parkway near U.S. Highway 287, the new...