Sprawl

Bridgeland, Buying and Selling, Freeways and Toll Roads, Master-Planned Communities, Quicklink, Sprawl

5 Comments

BUYING A BRIDGELAND The Caldwell Cos., possibly financed by Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., is in the process of buying all 11,400 acres of Bridgeland from bankrupt General Growth Properties for $90 to $95 million. “Caldwell notes the master-planned community will have the fourth-largest lake in Houston upon completion. The firm has spent three years moving more than 2 million [cubic] yards of dirt to create the body of water thatâ€™s large enough for boating and skiing, he says. The first part of the lake opened two weeks ago. . . . The master-planned community stretches between Katy-Hockley Road and Fry Road, south of U.S. Highway 290. The Grand Parkway will run right through the property. Construction on the roadway will begin in March 2010 with $180 million of federal stimulus money, according to The Grand Parkway Association.” [Houston Business Journal; previously in Swamplot]

77433, Bankruptcies, Bridgeland, Buying and Selling, Grand Parkway, Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, Sprawl

Freeways and Toll Roads

05/14/09 12:30pm

Ring Roads of the World: Houston Wins!

Houston Data, Sprawl

28 Comments

From the website of New York graphic-design office Thumb:

This poster is designed as a sort of calling card for Rice School of Architecture, located in Houston. We collected ring roads from 27 international cities and layered them all at the same scale. As it turned out, Houston has the largest system of those we surveyed. (Beijing was second)

Ring Roads of the World [Thumb]

Poster: Thumb

Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Houston Data, Rice-University, Sprawl

Flooding

05/04/09 8:24am

Bridgeland Over the Floodwaters

Freeways and Toll Roads, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

1 Comment

BRIDGELAND OVER THE FLOODWATERS Last week’s flooding in northwest Harris County provided only a taste of the problems likely to stem from development in the Katy Prairie along segment E of the planned Grand Parkway, say supporters of a Sierra Club challenge to existing floodplain maps in the Cypress Creek watershed. “An executive of Bridgeland GP, the company developing the 11,400-acre community, said in a Jan. 9, 2008, affidavit that the revisions sought by the Sierra Club would cost the company $28 million in flood mitigation measures that would ‘adversely affect’ the development. Despite the companyâ€™s efforts, the maps are being redrawn under U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthalâ€™s supervision. Rosenthal has stayed the lawsuit until October to allow time to complete the maps, but officials said they arenâ€™t certain when the task will be finished. Preliminary revised maps [(PDF)] shown to the Houston Chronicle by [Sierra Club attorney Jim] Blackburn and the Harris County Flood Control District show a significant expansion of the flood plain in an undeveloped western segment of Bridgelandâ€™s property and a reduction of the flood plain in other areas. . . . Asked if Bridgeland could assure Harris County residents that its development wonâ€™t worsen future flooding downstream, [Bridgeland VP of Sales] Houghton said, ‘I would have no problem guaranteeing that.'” [Houston Chronicle]

Bridgeland, Flooding, Grand Parkway, Katy Prairie, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

Greenspoint

04/24/09 10:22am

Closing the Greater Greenspoint Sprawl Gap

Industrial Properties, Quicklink, Sprawl

4 Comments

CLOSING THE GREATER GREENSPOINT SPRAWL GAP That 1,000-acre undeveloped green space south of Beltway 8 and just west of I-45 North will soon become Houston’s largest office/warehouse distribution business park: “The marketing package announces sites for sale within the business park ranging from five to 300 acres in size. A site plan indicates that Ella Boulevard, Greens Crossing Boulevard and Fallbrook Drive will be extended through the property. . . . Pinto Realtyâ€™s business park is comprised of 500 acres that have been owned by the Cockrell family for some 50 years, [Greater Greenspoint Management District president Jack] Drake says. The other 500 acres were used as a tree farm for many years before the Cockrells acquired that portion of the land from ExxonMobil Corp.” A unit of Sysco is completing a 585,000-square-foot distribution center on 50 adjacent acres the company purchased from the Cockrells 2 years ago. [Houston Business Journal]

77037, 77038, Distribution Centers, Greenspoint, Industrial Properties, Sprawl

Hotels

04/13/09 4:00pm

Out of Their League: Victory Lakes’ Battle of the Freeway Flank

League City, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

14 Comments

Some residents of 9-year-old Victory Lakes have been demonstrating against a La Quinta Inn proposed for the commercial strip that separates the recent master-planned community from the Gulf Freeway in League City, reports Rhiannon Meyers in the Galveston County Daily News:

[Developer Roy] Mease turned what was supposed to be an upscale suburb and high-end offices into a hub for big box retailers, fast food restaurants and hotels, Victory Lakes residents claimed.

â€œIâ€™m opposed to these hotels,â€ resident John Calebrese said. â€œItâ€™s just another step in the wrong direction of the promises made to the original homeowners of Victory Lakes … (The subdivision) is nothing like what was promised.â€

But Mease said the subdivision, with its 14 big box retailers, brings in an â€œungodly amountâ€ of sales tax revenue for League City. There is no reason to oppose a hotel plotted for land far away from any Victory Lakes homes, he said.

A Hampton Inn and Candlewood Suites are already under construction. What’s wrong with La Quinta?

77573, Big Box Stores, Hotels, League City, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Sprawl, Victory Lakes

Homebuilders

04/09/09 11:14am

Putting Stock in the Spread

Quicklink, Sprawl

2 Comments

PUTTING STOCK IN THE SPREAD Pulte Homes announced yesterday it will swallow up Dallas-based Centex for $1.3 billion in devalued stock. The new Pulte Homes, based in Michigan, will be the country’s largest homebuilder — with twice the revenue of its nearest competitor. Together, the two combined sprawling companies are building in 31 separate Houston-area developments, but only 3 of them are inside Beltway 8. All but 4 of the rest lie beyond Highway 6. [Houston Business Journal]

Homebuilders, Pulte Homes, Sprawl

Bridgeland

03/23/09 11:27am

Grand Parkway Sprawl Stimulus

Cinco Ranch, Freeways and Toll Roads, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

4 Comments

GRAND PARKWAY SPRAWL STIMULUS “The road exemplifies an unintended effect of the stimulus law: an administration that opposes suburban sprawl is giving money to states for projects that are almost certain to exacerbate it. A new master-planned community called Bridgeland is rising on the prairie along the proposed site of the road; once completed, the development is expected to have 21,000 new homes on 11,400 acres. Other developers are eagerly awaiting the new road so they can start building on their empty land, too. . . . [Roger H. Hord, the president of the West Houston Association] pointed out that the road would connect two existing highways and said it would ease congestion on some of Houstonâ€™s other beltways. He said that an existing leg of the Grand Parkway, just to the south of the proposed leg, would give a sense of what the new stretch of the Grand Parkway might look like when it is done. The existing stretch is lined with strip malls and gas stations and drug stores and a huge 7,600-acre residential development called Cinco Ranch that is popular with families.” [New York Times]

77433, 77449, 77477, 77493, Bridgeland, Cinco Ranch, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Katy Prairie, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

Commercial Real Estate

10/27/08 11:15am

Costco Greenway Commons Sidewalk Obstacle Course: Fun!

Greenway Plaza, Mixed Use, New Construction, Retail, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers

16 Comments

Sidewalk Along Weslayan St., Greenway Commons, Houston

The wise folks behind Greenway Commons — the new shopping center replacing the old HISD headquarters building at the corner of Richmond and Weslayan — have apparently taken some extra-special steps to make sure the new development (which includes a brand-new Costco) is super-friendly to pedestrian visitors!

Making everything welcoming to people arriving on foot makes sense — the project had been criticized for exhibiting suburban-style development patterns in a location that some dreamers had imagined would be a street-fronting mixed-use center. It’s already a busy corner, and Metro’s new University Line will have a stop only a short walk away.

But “easy to access” can also mean “boring.” So it’s comforting to see these pictures of the project’s street edge sent in by a reader, which show a gentle, fun infrastructure-themed obstacle course taking shape along the new Weslayan and Richmond sidewalks in front of Trammell Crow’s grand development:

77027, Big Box Stores, Commercial Real Estate, Greenway Commons, Greenway Plaza, Mixed Use, New Construction, Retail, Richmond-Avenue, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers

Development Strategy

07/22/08 2:41pm

Why We Need the Grand Parkway Between 290 and I-10

Freeways and Toll Roads, Katy, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

9 Comments

WHY WE NEED THE GRAND PARKWAY BETWEEN 290 AND I-10 “If the commissioners approve it, itâ€™s because they want new subdivisions built in the open space of the Katy Prairie. Weâ€™re building a highway for people who donâ€™t live here yet in hopes that developers will build houses for them and that they will want to live on a toll road 30 miles from Downtown in a world of $4 gas.” [Intermodality]

Development Strategy, Freeways, Grand Parkway, Katy, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

Alternative Energy

07/18/08 3:34pm

And Just Imagine How Well They’d Do If There Were Jobs or Shopping Nearby!

Development Strategy, Discovery at Spring Trails, Green Design and Development, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, Montgomery County, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing, Sprawl, Utilities

4 Comments

AND JUST IMAGINE HOW WELL THEY’D DO IF THERE WERE JOBS OR SHOPPING NEARBY! Discovery at Spring Trails, Land Tejas’s gated and solar-panel-badged community north of Spring, is selling well, says Lisa Gray: “. . . only a few weeks after Discovery put itself on the market, and without even a finished house that would-be buyers can tour, most of the lots ready for building have been optioned, and the developer is scrambling to make more available fast. In fact, Discovery is off to the fastest start of any development in the company’s 11-year history, and Land Tejas expects demand to pick up even more this fall. Already, propelled mostly by Google searches, 200 to 300 people a week are touring the neighborhood’s ‘Discovery Center.'” [Houston Chronicle]

77386, Alternative Energy, Discovery at Spring Trails, Green Design, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, Montgomery County, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Solar Power, Sprawl, Spring, Utilities

Apartments

03/05/08 11:42pm

Greenway Commons: Gas Station Too!

Commercial Real Estate, Greenway Plaza, New Construction, Parking, Proposed Developments, Retail, Sprawl, Strip Centers

Greenway Commons Costco at Richmond and Weslayan, Houston

Didja know that the new Costco going up on the former site of the HISD headquarters building at the corner of Richmond and Weslayan . . . is gonna have its very own gas station right out front?

Costco liked the idea of coming inside the Loop so much . . . it decided to bring all its friends! The city just issued a building permit for the new Costco Fuel station. But that’s just the latest addition to Greenway Commons, which is turning out to be quite a mix: A 45,420-sq.-ft. LA Fitness is going above the Costco, next to a 4-story parking garage which is connected to a 2-story retail strip center. It’ll all be protected from the busy surrounding streets by more than 500 surface parking spaces and 2 corner pad sites slated for “banks.” In back: a 550-unit Morgan Group luxury apartment complex . . . with two more separate garages!

After the jump, more drawings and plans of this surprising development.

77027, Apartments, Big Box Stores, Commercial Real Estate, Greenway Commons, Greenway Plaza, Mixed Use, New Construction, Parking, Parking-Garages, Proposed Developments, Retail, Richmond-Avenue, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers

Buying and Selling

11/19/07 11:52am

Metro Chief Very Excited About Sprawl

Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Freeways and Toll Roads, Katy, Land Development, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Sprawl, Transportation

Aerial View of Wolff Companies Projects Along I-10

Sure, Metro talks a lot about transportation in this city’s central districts. But a Houston Business Journal profile shows us Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman David Wolff is also enthusiastic about Houston’s westward spread:

Many developers are building various types of commercial properties west of Houston and beyond.

The city of Katy, with an estimated population of 205,000, sits square in the path of Houston’s westward growth pattern.

“The whole city is going that way,” Wolff says. “I think Katy is going to be the next Sugar Land.”

He recalls the creation of Park 10, and how much the area has grown over the last three decades.

Says Wolff: “It was just rice fields. That was really the edge of the world then.”

After the jump, the METRO Board Chairman’s exciting projects way out west, plus how to get folks in the “next Sugar Land” to build freeway on- and off-ramps for your developments!

Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Freeways, Katy, Land Development, Metro, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Sprawl, Transportation

Brazoria County

11/06/07 10:48am

What Those Inspired Masters Are Planning near Alvin

Development Strategy, Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

Map of Proposed Aperion Communities Developments

Why do we need the Grand Parkway? To connect all those new green-living communities spreading way out into the Texas prairie!

An Arizona development company is master-planning a master-planned community for a tiny 4,000-plus-acre plot in Alvin, linking the Grand Parkway, FM 1462, and highway 288. Yes, that’s bigger than Shadow Creek Ranch.

It’s called Inspiration at Alvin, if you believe the mayor, or Inspiration @ Chocolate Bayou if you believe the Aperion Communities website.

Alvin mayor Gary Appelt announced that the expected population when the project is built out — in 30 years — is 25,000 people. That’s just over six people per acre. No wonder they’re calling it green!

Inspiration is the first lifestyle enhanced sustainable community model ever created. Itâ€™s where Aperionâ€™s programs for energy, health, business and transportation are connected directly to your home.

The company website lists the development at a just-slightly larger 5,500 acres, which means residents will have even more room to spread their windmills. Aperion is also threatening a 6,000-acre development called Inspiration @ Lake Houston. All in all, there are five Inspiration communities proposed for Texas and two for New Mexico. That’s more than 36,434 acres of currently wasted farms and ranchland transformed into sustainable, productive living spaces. Go green!

Alvin to get new housing development [The Facts]
Aperion Communities

77511, 77583, Alvin, Brazoria County, Grand Parkway, Green Communities, Master-Planned Communities, Sprawl

Commercial Real Estate

10/22/07 8:02am

Big! Lots for Small! Fry

For Sale by Owner, Real Estate Investing, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers