Demographers at Population and Survey Analysts in their April 2022 report projected Cy-Fair ISD’s jurisdiction will add more than 38,000 new housing units between 2021-31.
Comparatively, an estimated 43,788 housing units were added in the previous decade, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
“We’re really in the bullseye of what Houston will look like 10 or 15 years from now. Many of the projections say that Cypress will be the center of metropolitan Houston within the next 20 years. Dunham Pointe is the last major tract along [Hwy.] 290 all the way [west] to the Grand Parkway, so we think the location itself is a huge advantage,” said Archie Dunham, the former energy executive developing the Dunham Pointe community.
Most of the region’s growth is taking place in the western portion of the district south of Hwy. 290 in master-planned communities offering proximity to parks, pools, retail, dining, schools and places of worship. PASA predicts Dunham Pointe, Towne Lake, Mason Woods, Avalon at Cypress, Marvida and Bridgeland will each add 1,000 or more housing units from 2021-31.
These communities will bring hundreds of new homes to Cy-Fair in 2023, including both single-family and multifamily units. PASA forecasts multifamily growth outpacing single-family growth in 2026-31 as apartment complexes fill in the region’s remaining tracts of developable land.
Neighborhood news
Cy-Fair’s largest master-planned community, Bridgeland, continues to lay the groundwork for a multidecade development plan.
Jim Carman, president of the Houston region at The Howard Hughes Corp., said about 17,000 people live in Bridgeland, but developers expect the community to eventually be home to 70,000. Ultimately, the goal is to have 1.5 jobs per rooftop within Bridgeland.
“While today Bridgeland obviously is very much focused on the residential aspects, it’s important to note that ultimately our plan is to provide the same type of job center that you have in The Woodlands,” he said.
The community added about 600 single-family homes in 2022, and Carman said he expects similar growth in 2023.
South of Bridgeland, Taylor Morrison opened Avalon at Cypress in early 2022 with five model homes and will soon open Mason Woods with three model homes, said Todd Rasmussen, president of Taylor Morrison’s Houston Division.
Between these two communities and Bridge Creek, which opened its amenity center early last year, the homebuilder is slated to add more than 300 homes to the Cypress community in 2023.
We are excited about the wide array of high-functioning floor plans and fresh, attractive elevations we offer in these communities,” Rasmussen said.
Tim Johnson, director of community sales and marketing for Land Tejas, which is developing neighboring master-planned community Marvida, said the community could be 60% built out by the end of 2023 with full buildout slated for 2025.
The Island Amenity Village—which is anchored by a lazy river—is expected to open by summer.
“With a good school district, the close proximity to schools and then Marvida’s location in being close to both [the Grand Parkway] and [Hwy.] 290, it was really a very popular development from a builder interest standpoint,” Johnson said.
Economic outlook
While development progresses, fewer locals could afford the median home price of $349,500 as of the third quarter of 2021, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
Just 41% of households in the Houston region earned the minimum annual required income for that price point—compared to 53% one year earlier.
“Homebuyers had to navigate an overheated market over the last year, but conditions have been cooling to prepandemic levels in recent months,” HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob said in a Nov. 10 news release. “We’ve seen home sales slow, prices level off and inventory rise. These are all indicators that we’re moving closer to more normal, prepandemic conditions, and that should create more options and opportunities for consumers."
But high home prices and mortgage rates have had many homebuyers seeking alternatives to single-family home purchases. Developers said the demand for multifamily and single-family rentals are on the rise in Cy-Fair.
In addition to opening a 358-unit multifamily project called The Starling at Bridgeland, the Howard Hughes Corp. broke ground on a 263-home, build-to-rent neighborhood called Wingspan in 2022.
Taylor Morrison is planning to bring a build-to-rent neighborhood to a tract of land adjacent to Avalon at Cypress, although a timeline has not been announced.
As of the third quarter of 2021, Cy-Fair had 1,583 multifamily units under construction and another 600 planned units, according to commercial real estate firm Berkadia. PASA project 55% of new housing units from 2026-31 will be multifamily.
“With the affordability constraints encountered over the past few years, demand for multifamily and single-family rentals will likely increase,” Rasmussen said.
Upcoming development
In addition to multifamily projects, Cy-Fair developers are also preparing for new schools, commercial businesses and road projects.
Dunham said industrial facilities, a multifamily development and an automotive dealership could be among the first commercial projects in Dunham Pointe. Businesses such as banks and day care facilities will come later, as will CFISD schools and a Cy-Fair Fire Department station.
Road projects underway in Dunham Pointe include the construction of Jack Road from Mason to Mueschke roads, which will wrap up in 2023. Work on Mound Road should also begin this year, Dunham said.
Rasmussen said other projects underway include the last section of West Road from Fry Road to the Grand Parkway, Mason Road from West to Tuckerton roads, and Bridge Creek Terrace Parkway connecting the east side of Bridge Creek to the west.
In Bridgeland, the connection of North Bridgeland Creek Parkway from Lakeland Village to the Grand Parkway is slated for completion this year.
Carman said commercial growth should pick up in 2023 as ground breaks on Village Green at Bridgeland Central, which will open in 2024 with an H-E-B and mass timber office building.
Carman said in addition to commercial construction in Bridgeland Central and connectivity throughout, offering education options is a top priority. A new location of the Goddard School and CFISD’s Middle School No. 20 will open in Bridgeland this year.
“It’s absolutely critical to have great, diverse educational opportunities in our community,” he said. “It’s what attracts families to our communities. It maintains the value of our homes and businesses, ... and so we work very closely with public and private schools to ensure that those exist.”
