The master-plan for Bridgeland involves four villages surrounding a central town center.[/caption]

Work began this month on the 1,800-acre Parkland Village in Bridgeland—the second of four planned villages that will make up the master-planned community at build-out.

The new section is located south of the existing Lakeland Village, and homes will eventually be constructed on the acres of land east from the Grand Parkway.

“People will be amazed at how the current rural nature along the Grand Parkway will change rapidly,” said Peter Houghton, vice president of master-planned communities with the Howard Hughes Corporation, which is developing Bridgeland. “It will become a major distribution center. Other projects are lining up already. That’s really the lifeline of future growth in the Cypress area and in Bridgeland.”

Bridgeland Town Center

Plans continue to be sharpened for Bridgeland Town Center, the community’s premier mixed-use commercial project that will be located on 800 acres on both sides of the Grand Parkway.

The center will include 5 million square feet of office space, restaurants, businesses and entertainment venues, Houghton said.

“As soon as the Grand Parkway was completed, interest in the Town Center increased,” he said. “We would love to be building the first phase in a year or so, but the marketplace will dictate when that occurs.”

The town center plays into Houghton’s goal of providing one job for every home in Bridgeland—approximately 19,000 in total.

“We are very committed to providing jobs,” he said. “With the jobs comes high-end restaurants and entertainment. The commitment to providing jobs in the suburbs is the difference between us and a lot of others who call themselves master-planned.”

Work on Bridgeland Creek Parkway—which will connect Fry Road to the Grand Parkway with two lanes in both directions—is slated to be completed in February, providing a direct link to the site of the future town center, Houghton said. In the meantime, Bridgeland Creek Parkway will give residents another way to reach the Grand Parkway aside from House Hahl Road, he said.

Parkland and Lakeland villages

Each of the four villages of Bridgeland—Lakeland, Parkland, Prairieland and Creekland—will offer a different neighborhood character, Houghton said. As its name suggests, Parkland Village will feature more greenspace and park amenities.

Parkland will include 3,000 homes sites once fully built out. Homes will be available at a wide variety of price points, similar to Lakeland Village, whose offerings range from the $100,000 range up to more than $1 million, Houghton said.

“We have substantially increased the number of builders in Bridgeland over the past year to 17 builders and 20 models,” Houghton said. “We have lots of [options], including more affordable alternatives in a market where that is the emphasis.”

Meanwhile, several projects are also underway in Lakeland Village. Cy-Fair ISD’s four-story Bridgeland High School is under construction within the multi-school education campus and will open for the 2017-18 school year. Adjacent to that, Houston First Baptist Church is building a 1,300-seat sanctuary.

Plans for an active adult community within Bridgeland for residents ages 55 and older are also in the works. Few details can be released at this point, Houghton said.

“We’re working on that as we speak,” he said.

Josey Lake

Big plans are also underway for Josey Lake, which borders Bridgeland Creek Parkway.

The lake, which provides another border separating Lakeland Village from Parkland Village, will include more than 140 acres of recreational space, including a pavilion where residents can check out a canoe or kayak, Houghton said. Plans also include a birding tower in the middle of the lake, a zip line, fishing pier and a natural-type playground.

“The plan calls for an extremely detailed palate of landscaping and treescaping around the entire lake, with trails and boardwalks out into the lake,” Houghton said.

The final completion of all of the Josey Lake landscaping and amenities is set for the fall of 2017, Houghton said.

“We really think it will be similar to Buffalo Bayou, only the lake will be a lot bigger,” he said. “We believe that Josey Lake will be an unequaled amenity.”