Ralph Bivins tells Swamplot that lots of dirt is being shoved around on the foreclosed former site of the WaterLights District project, west of 288 and just south of the Beltway where all those heads of former heads of state used to hang out. Pearland’s Ivy District is now being planted on the site instead: plans for the $300-million development include a multifamily complex, condos, a senior living community, townhomes, office buildings, and room for retail.

Part of the project’s funding will come from the EB-5 visa program, which allows wealthy foreigners and their immediate families to immigrate to the US in exchange for a necessary investment expected to create at least 10 jobs. Sueba USA and Beijing-owned American Modern Green are developing the site; American Modern’s parent company Modern Land of China has worked on projects in China (including Steve Holl’s twisty Linked Hybrid in Beijing) and Vancouver, but the Ivy District is its first US venture.

American Modern Green bought the land straddling the Harris-Brazoria county line back in late 2012 following the 2010 foreclosure. Here’s the breakdown of what will go where, per the current plans on the Ivy District’s website:

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The northwest corner of the 48-acre tract is slated for a 335-unit multifamily complex, with some retail spaces sprinkled in:

Just east of that, the 224-unit senior living area is pencilled in next to 142 condo units: 

Several office buildings are planned just off the 288 feeder road:

Some green space and water features are depicted south of the office buildings; that’s Clear Creek and the running through the far southeast corner, which is marked for possible future commercial development if that seems like a good idea once everything else is built:

The rest of the tract is slated for townhouse fill-in:

The whole property sits just north of the Pearland Medical Center and stench-plagued Shadow Creek Ranch.

• Beijing Developers Begin Construction on $300 Million Mixed-Use Project in Pearland [Realty News Report]
• The Proposed Ivy District Development [The Ivy District]
• Previously on Swamplot: Pearland Heads Cut Off: The WaterLight District’s Giant Presidential Bust; Ex-Presidents in Pearland: Heads Above the Muck