About seven different housing developments are under various stages of development and design on the west side of League City that will bring about 1,500-2,000 housing lots over the next two years, League City Director of Engineering Christopher Sims said.
In addition to new lots, the developers will help build out the infrastructure of the west side area, including the construction of roadways and drainage.
“People come here because of the quality of life, our schools, our parks, our security, our drainage, the bang for the buck for a home, and proximity to downtown Houston and Galveston,” said Scott Livingston, League City’s director of economic development.
City officials anticipate the Texas Department of Transportation’s extension of the Grand Parkway will spur commercial development. Furthermore, demand for local commercial areas will rise as new communities are built in the west.
Even before development on the west side, League City’s population grew by 36.9% from 83,560 residents in 2010 to 114,392 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“[League City] is going to pretty much double in population in the next 20 to 30 years,” League City Director of Communications Sarah Greer Osborne said. “We’ve been growing like crazy, but we’re going to continue to grow.”
Settling the west side
Seven developments are in various stages of progress to further build out the west side of League City and provide homes for future residents.
Developments include the Georgetown community; the Steadman-West tract; the Westwood subdivision; the Westland Ranch Planned Unit Development; the Lloyd PUD; and the Duncan PUD, which includes the Pedregal and Samara communities being built by different developers.
“All of these developments are coming here with no incentives [from the city],” Sims said. “They’re building here because they want to build here.”
The Westwood subdivision will have 1,364 homes at build-out, 1,100 of which are already built, Westwood developer Travis B. Campbell said. The subdivision is expected to be complete in early 2026, he said.
Many lots of the Westland Ranch PUD and Duncan PUD are undergoing infrastructure development. Pedregal has more than 200 homes built and is expected to be finished by the end of 2025, President of Cervelle Homes Jeffrey Payson said. Construction on homes is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year for the Samara community, Sims said.
However, the Georgetown development and Lloyd PUD are in earlier stages of development, League City officials said.
Meanwhile, construction on drainage and stormwater detention infrastructure is expected to begin on the Steadman-West tract of land this summer, said Russell Bynum, Houston general manager of Hillwood Communities, the developer of the tract. Phase 1 lots are expected to be ready for construction by summer 2024, he said.
The 800-acre community will have 1,700-1,800 homes upon build-out, and it will feature parks and a recreation center, Bynum said.
“League City is a vibrant city that’s well located and has a great school district,” Bynum said.
Hillwood Communities plans to invest about $200 million into developing the area, which the company expects will generate over $1.5 billion in value upon build-out, Bynum said.
Laying the foundation
Since most of the west side of League City is undeveloped, it lacks critical infrastructure, such as roads, and sewer and water lines. However, the housing developers will build infrastructure, including internal and arterial roads, Sims said.
“We’re going to have [five] roads that are running north-south that don’t exist today, or at least don’t exist completely today [on the west side],” Sims said.
Landing Boulevard, Hobbs Road, Bay Area Boulevard, Maple Leaf Drive and West Boulevard are all expected to eventually connect to FM 517. Hobbs Road stops short of FM 517 at a dead end, and it is expected to be extended by developers within two years, Osborne said.
Other roadway connections are also planned, such as one from League City Parkway to Friendswood Lake Boulevard that will be built by Hillwood Communities as part of its unnamed Steadman-West tract development, Sims said. Following that, the company will begin other infrastructure development and platting.
Bynum said the company has begun clearing the property and is working on the approvals to start constructing League City Parkway, and work is expected to begin in the spring after bidding.
“I would say we’re ready as best as we can based on the planning and strategic visioning that [the city] has been trying to do over the last 10 years,” Osborne said. “We knew [growth] was coming; it wasn’t a surprise.”
Grand Parkway to drive commerce
In mid-February, TxDOT officials announced the start of an extension to the Grand Parkway, with development planned for a portion of Segment B running from I-45 South in League City to FM 2403 in Alvin, according to a Feb. 14 release from State Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland. The future extension will not only affect access to League City’s residential development on the west side but contribute to commercial growth as well, city officials said.
“As our community rapidly expands, it’s important to invest in infrastructure that promotes interconnectivity and economic growth for our cities, schools and businesses,” Thompson said in the release.
The Grand Parkway stops at Hwy. 59 in Sugar Land, but TxDOT has plans to extend the roadway with the final segments A, B and C, which would connect Baytown to League City. Segment B would run through the heart of most of the incoming housing developments on League City’s west side.
A contract for the I-45 to FM 2403 Segment B project is expected in 2025 with completion in 2030, per the release. However, there is no timeline for the remaining portion of Segment B that will cover FM 2403 to SH 288.
“TxDOT and Brazoria County will assess the delivery timeframe of the remaining portion of Segment B from FM 2403 to SH 288 as a separate and future project,” a statement from TxDOT reads.
TxDOT had previously proposed removing segments B-C from its 10-year plan in 2019.
“Grand Parkway, I think, is a success story,” League City City Manager John Baumgartner said.
However, Segment A of the proposed Grand Parkway extension is not considered a viable project, according to the TxDOT project description.
“We have various corridors that currently provide adequate east-west passage for those traveling through Galveston County,” Perez said.
In preparation of the Grand Parkway, the city will keep most west side commercial districts next to where the road will be with commercial pockets near FM 517, League City Assistant Director of Planning Kris Carpenter said.
However, commercial permitting on the west side is low as much of the housing development is in early stages, Carpenter said.
“With the influx of residential housing, localized commercial uses become necessary,” Bynum said. “We expect there to be some demand created for retail uses with the growth this [Stedman-West tract] community will bring.”
