The 2,310-acre community is set to open in late 2021 at the southwest corner of the Grand Parkway and FM 1314. Caldwell Communities declined Community Impact Newspaper’s request for comment.
The Highlands will feature 4,000 homes upon build-out with home prices starting in the $290,000s, according to Caldwell Communities' The Highlands website. The community will also include recreational lakes, an 18-hole semiprivate golf course, more than 30 miles of hike and bike trails, a water park with a resort-style pool and a lazy river, and an event lawn with a pavilion.
In a promotional video published on The Highlands website, Caldwell Communities’ development team discussed its vision for the community. In the video, Fred Caldwell, president and CEO of Caldwell Communities, said he wants the community to enrich the lives of families who live there.
"The amenities that we'll deliver inside The Highlands are comparable to our other major master-planned communities," Caldwell said. "[We] really want to develop the land in a way that someone, when they move in to The Highlands, is going to find that their life was made better because they moved into The Highlands rather than somewhere else."
The community will also border the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, which has a history of flooding during heavy rainfall. However, Caldwell Communities plans to turn the roughly 300 acres along the river into a large park with hike and bike trails, according to the developer's promotional video.
Homebuilders Coventry Homes, Newmark Homes and Beazer Homes have begun advertising on their websites their intentions to build single-family homes in the community. David Weekley Homes, a 55-plus active-adult community developer, also plans to open 45- and 55-foot home sites in The Highlands, according to its website.
Mark Linabury, president of the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the development will be a nice addition to the community.
“More residents [mean] more consumers. From [a chamber’s] perspective, that’s a good thing,” he said. “It shows the excitement of east Montgomery County and how investors and developers and people looking for new homes ... are looking at us as a viable market.”
The new community will also be zoned to New Caney ISD. NCISD Executive Director of Public Relations Scott Powers said via email The Highlands will bring thousands of students to the district. The district already owns a site for a planned elementary school in The Highlands to meet the future demands of the community, Powers said.
“Construction of a school would have to be part of a future bond program that would be subject to voter approval,” he said. “While there is not currently a time frame for the next bond proposal, the prospect of being a part of The Highlands community is very exciting as [NCISD] continues to plan for growth.”
For more information on the community, visit www.thehighlands.com.
