New Cypress community breaks ground, forest and lakes a draw

Photo by Marie Leonard

Work on the first set of homes in Parc Lake Estates–a 32-acre subdivision off N. Eldridge Parkway–is nearing completion. Construction began late last year on the gated community, which will include 64 lots built on 150-by-80-foot plots of land. Prices of homes will start around $350,000.

Joe Watson, partner with Axis Point Developers, chose to build Parc Lake Estates off N. Eldridge Parkway due to the advanced stage of development surrounding the community.

"We liked the fact that the tract is infield and that there are so many other developments farther away from the central business district," he said. "It's also fairly secluded, so we liked the area."

Although the development is located in one of the less-traveled areas of Cy-Fair, the population surrounding Parc Lake Estates has increased in the past decade. More than 4,400 people live in the area bordered in the south and east by Cypress Creek, to the west by Kluge Road, and north by Cypresswood Drive, according to census data.

Parc Lake Estates has several natural elements inside the community such as three lakes to go along with an adjacent 30-acre pond built by Harris County.

"What's significant about this project is that more than 90 percent of the lots are on the lakes we've built or the county's lake," Watson said. "About 25 to 30 percent of the lots are facing a heavily wooded forest in the floodway, which means it will never be built on. It's one of those odd developments where almost every direction you look you have forest or lake."

The community also features an outdoor amphitheater constructed with limestone blocks that looks over a 1.4-acre wetland.

"It will be a remarkable park and an unusual asset because we are trying to enhance the wetland and make it larger," Watson said. "We are in the process of planting butterfly and hummingbird plants, along with cypress trees."

Similar Cypress development

• Joe Watson is also the developer for White Oak Lake Estates, a 40-acre development off Kluge Road, where construction began in 2010
• White Oak Lake Estates, features three parks and an amphitheater, which has a view of the wetlands behind the development
• Similar to Parc Lake Estates, the community is gated and will include 66 lots when complete
• White Oak Lake Estates is about 50 percent built-out, and is expected to be complete in about 15 months