It’s ‘Home, Home On The Range’ at 505 ranch
Business community gets close-up view of The 505 Cedar Creek Ranch Club
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–Momentum is building at the 505 Cedar Creek Ranch Club in Mabank.
Developer Eastern Partners invited the local business community to see what is hidden from the road during an area chamber of commerce “Business After Hours” gathering July 21.
The well-screened resort development has four houses in some phase of construction and two houses already built.
A full third of its 56 ranchette lots are sold, and their owners are already enjoying a wide selection of recreational opportunities on the ranch’s 400 acres of deeded open range, Eastern Partners representative Newton Hopkins told The Monitor.

Monitor Photos/Pearl Cantrell
Dentist Roberto Loar stretches his neck to get a good look at the bull elk head hanging in one of the guesthouse duplexes for lot owners at the 505 Cedar Creek Ranch Club during a chamber after-hours mixer.

Definitely a resort development, the 505 offers ranch-style amenities without the work of operating and maintaining a ranch.
The smallest lots are a little more than an acre, and the largest lot is seven acres. Regardless of size, each lot comes with a minimum of 120 feet of lake frontage and heavily-wooded privacy.
Constructed homes are required to have at least 3,000 square feet under environmental controls, and 80 percent in masonry facade, Hopkins said.
The first thing noticed about the clubhouse is the stack of fishing poles and tackle box sitting by the front door, ready to use on any of the ranch’s several stocked ponds.
Inside, the clubhouse features an open configuration with views of the lake, reminiscent of a lakeside cabin, except for the spacious, commercial-style kitchen, where visitors can bake a pizza, whirl up a smoothie or icy concoction or even roast a turkey.
Passing through to the flagstone patio with overhead fans, one looks down on a small sandy beach with two wooden loungers that seem to beckon. A boat dock stretches out into the dredged frontage.
(The ranch owns a computerized dredger, which has been clearing an even 10-foot depth from the shoreline to 200 feet out, Hopkins said.)
Monitor Photo/Pearl Cantrell
Unseen by the public, The 505 Cedar Creek Ranch guesthouse gets the once over from chamber members during a recent open house.

Nearer at hand, an infinity-edge swimming pool and hot tub offer a choice of swimming venues. A neighboring fire pit, encircled by stone benches, suggests marshmallow roasting after dark.
Inside, a large wall-mounted television set opens onto rustic, yet comfortable lounging areas.
Property owners who do not have a house built yet, or who perhaps will never build a house but will hold the lot for posterity, may still enjoy a weekend at the ranch.
A guest house opposite the clubhouse can bed up to 12 comfortably, or two separate parties at a time, as it provides two complete kitchens, living rooms and bedroom suites.
“The clubhouse and guest house were completed a year ago,” Hopkins said.
There are two stocked ponds. A very large pond situated nearest the home sites has a canoe and life jackets conveniently located.
The ranch is also strewn with five miles of wooded trails for hiking, horseback riding or all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding.
“This is a place where a kid can be a kid,” on-site sales and general manager Bob Jenkins said.
“They can be out all day, exploring in woods or field, even camp out, while parents know the perimeter is secure from unwanted intruders,” Jenkins said. “Our owners come down with their kids or their grandkids, and they just have a blast.”
An ATV course has been mapped out beside one of the ponds, and offers a shaded resting place for parents to oversee the activity.
One of the trails opens up on a teepee, set on a wooden platform for a campsite, complete with a stacked cord of wood for fire-making and a hitching post to tie up any ponies.
A fully-stocked skeet range is also located on the ranch for some exciting target practice.
A large horse stable is also nearing completion to house horses lot owners may wish to keep at the ranch.
A small convenience building contains camping gear and other “toys” so lot-owners can fully enjoy all the ranch has to offer.
Classified as a wildlife management area, the ranch is home to rabbits, beavers, a wide variety of birds (especially ducks), deer and even a small population of coyotes.
A few acres are kept in hay and are being operated as a range, Jenkins said.
Eastern Partners won city approval of its development agreement Aug. 16, 2006 (the year of the drought). Mabank chiropractor Jeff Gaddis is one of the builders and brought the property to the attention of Eastern Partners.
The property was formerly owned by the Burke family, who wanted to see the character of the ranch preserved.
While putting in the infrastructure – roads and underground utilities, trails and recreational sites – work crews came upon at least one grave of a Mason forebear.
(In 1900, the Mabank townsite was set aside by the Mason and Eubank families.)
Asphalt roads in the development have been handed over to the city of Mabank for maintenance, Hopkins said.
Lot prices range from $395,000 to $525,000, with all property taxes paid through the homeowners association, Hopkins said.
For more information, call (903) 887-3000, or visit the website at www.505ranch.com.