School-District Manifest Destiny

SCHOOL-DISTRICT MANIFEST DESTINY Cinco Ranch — recently named the fastest-growing residential community in the country by a real-estate consulting firm — will keep expanding west. Newland Communities just purchased 492 acres west of neighboring Pine Mill Ranch, way out near Firethorne between FM 1463 and Katy-Flewellen Road; the company plans to have new Cinco Ranch-branded homesites available there within a couple of years. Further west, there’s even more land available for cheap: the 742-acre Tamarron Lakes subdivision was foreclosed on in April. Kirk Laguarta of Land Advisors Organization, who’s marketing that property for $19K an acre, tells the Houston Business Journal that the property that Newland just bought is considered more valuable that that, in part because it’s zoned to Katy ISD. But Newland may not be interested in expanding Cinco Ranch into Tamarron Lakes — that development belongs to the Lamar Consolidated ISD. [Houston Business Journal]

14 Comment

  • This is really, REALLY good news. It brings us one step closer to the ultimate goal of expanding this wonderful neighborhood all the way to Fulshear. Although they may have to change the name to something like Catorce Ranch, since there are likely several more cattle farms in this community’s God-given territory.

  • Wow, I was trying to find this on the map and had to keep zooming out. It’s closer to Sealy than Downtown Houston. My head hurts just thinking about that commute.

  • The Katy Freeway expansion facilitated this outward growth. It is to be expected. Just like every freeway construction project in Houston EVER, within 10 years after completion there will be gridlock again as more and more people move to developments like this one just proposed.

  • where are you higher gas tax?

    but i won’t knock expansion, means fewer people i have to deal with in the city. god bless the ‘burbs.

  • oh, but as far as commuting these are mostly oil and gas folks so i wonder what percentage of them actually have to go past the beltway to get to work.

  • @joel

    I would argue that oil and gas companies comprise a large portion of the businesses in lots of further away areas, including Greenspoint, downtown, the Galleria, and Greenway Plaza. My oil and gas coworkers commute to Greenspoint from Pearland, Katy, Kingwood, Cypress and every other possible burb.

  • Hey, we don’t all live in the burbs. Some of us commute to our suburban oil and gas gigs in a reverse commute from inside the loop. That way we get to watch everyone else fuming in gridlock.

  • NOBODY wants to live in Lamar Consolidated.

  • You know that doomsday scenario of runaway nanotechnology slowly turning the entire world into gray goo? It’s sort of happening.

  • Oh, and I just love the word “homesite.” It’s such a nice way to say “vacant lot.”

  • What’s wrong with Lamar Consolidated?

  • No, “vacant lot” is less descriptive. These “homesites” will have utilities, which a vacant lot might not, and restricted for use by homes. You could use the term “vacant developed single-family residential lots” if you wanted to be even more precise, but that’s a mouthful. It wouldn’t fit on ads.

  • From Superdave:
    “The Katy Freeway expansion facilitated this outward growth. It is to be expected.”

    And we ALL subsidize their ease of commutes with billions in new roads. Interesting since the majority of my friends from Katy are super Tea Baggers who hate welfare, govt bailouts, etc (sorry if I paint with too broad a brush.)

  • Pone Tonie, by making a large swath of inexpensive land reasonably accessible to potentially hundreds of thousands of more homes, there is less demand for land that is closer in to town, thereby moderating real estate costs for people that prefer to live and do business in the inner city.

    I would submit to you that the direct and indirect beneficial impacts of intra-regional transportation infrastructure is felt throughout our economy and is enjoyed by every category of people in every location.

    Also…it keeps Tea Baggers happy in the suburbs rather than being pissy and your neighbors. Do you REALLY want a Joe Horn living next door? No? Didn’t think so.