The Katy area has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, and there is no sign it is slowing down anytime soon. The overflowing symbiotic surge of residential, commercial and industrial expansion concentrated along I-10 and south into Fort Bend County is now streaming north along the Grand Parkway. Developers are banking that the area's open, greener pastures will be the perfect place for the next wave of new homes and businesses in the Katy area.

According to the Katy Area Economic Development Council, there are more than 300,000 people now living in the Katy area, topping the population of Pittsburgh. The vast majority of those residents live south of I-10. While there still is room to grow there, developers are quickly running out of space.

Growth going north

The opening of Segment E of the Grand Parkway in December 2103 has paved the way north of I-10 to an area of Katy largely untouched by development. Much of what now is open fields and pastures will transform in time into master-planned communities built to house a growing population in a new north Katy.

"The Grand Parkway is attracting businesses and residential growth, and we're seeing that picking up now," said Lance LaCour, president of the KAEDC. "There's no doubt the Grand Parkway has opened a lot of opportunities north for developers. It's where the land is they can build on. It's where a lot of the growth for business, industrial and residential is heading."

Statistics gathered by Population and Survey Analysts, or PASA, indicate the population in the far northern Katy area is set to explode in the next 10 years. According to a PASA study commissioned by Katy ISD last year, there will be more than 15,000 new homes occupied north of Clay Road within 5 miles of the Grand Parkway by 2024.

A vast majority of that growth, about 80 percent, will happen between 2019 and 2024. In comparison, the study notes there will be less than 300 new homes in the same area by October this year.

Campuses coming

PASA's study was released a month before voters approved a $748 million bond for KISD that will provide funds for a slew of campus renovations and six new schools needed for a student population now surpassing 70,000. The projects will add about 9,000 classroom seats across the district and provide enrollment relief for 10 campuses, school officials said.

Three of those new schools will be built close to one another near the epicenter of the Katy area's northern residential expansion.

A dual secondary campus with a new high school and junior high will be constructed at the intersection of Stockdick School and Peek roads. Construction costs are estimated at about $157 million for the high school and $45 million for the junior high. The shared campus should open in time for the 2017–18 school year.

An elementary school will be constructed nearby on the same 160-acre site at a cost of about $28 million. That school is scheduled to open for the 2016–17 school year.

Ventana Lakes

Situated on the doorsteps of the three new north KISD campuses is Ventana Lakes, a housing community that welcomed its first residents early last year. Developers Perry Homes and D.R. Horton are building the community that eventually will cover

480 acres and surround the three new schools along Peek, Clay Road, Porter and Stockdick School roads.

"With the Katy ISD bond passed, prospective homeownerscan make decisions for their families with confidence that the district is committed to providing top-tier facilities for the future residents along the new [Hwy.] 99 corridor," said Chris Lauhoff, a sales professional with Perry Homes.

There are 228 lots in the first phase of development at Ventana Lakes, and that work is almost complete, officials said. Road construction has begun along Clay Road for the next phase that will include about 200 homes and open in 2016.

In all, Ventana Lakes will be built out in five phases of about 200 lots each with about 1,200 homes filling the community.

Homes in Ventana Lakes range from 1,600–4,700 square feet with prices from the $180,000s to $500,000.

Elyson

On the far north border of KISD, just miles from the three new campuses, Elyson, a massive 3,600-acre project, is being built by Newland Communities.

More than 6,000 new homes will be constructed in the next 10 to 12 years in Elyson, said Jennifer Taylor, vice president of marketing for Newland Communities. The development spans from west of the intersection of FM 529 and the Grand Parkway east along FM 529. It will be located in both Cy-Fair and Katy ISDs and is expected to house about 20,000 residents.

"We think it's wonderful three new Katy ISD schools will be so close to Elyson when the community opens," Taylor said. "We were very happy to see the bond pass for Katy ISD. It's a great school district and a great part of the community and a reason why so many families want to live in Katy."

Newland Communities has developed many master-planned communities in the Greater Houston area, including Cinco Ranch.

All the growth in the Katy area trending north is one thing that attracted Newland Communities to the site, Taylor said.

"You have the Grand Parkway right there and a lot of development following that, so it's a great place to be," Taylor said. "It's an ideal spot."

Though plans have yet to be finalized for much of Elyson, developers have set aside three sites for future KISD schools. Taylor said elementary schools are usually needed first in a new community to accommodate a high number of younger students, but a future KISD junior high or high school inside Elyson is not out of the question.

Taylor said developers are waiting for a final drainage permit before starting construction on the first Elyson lots zoned in KISD. She said homes should be available in 2016.

Kings Crossing

Just down the street from the new KISD campuses, another community is now erecting houses and plans to have families moved in when the elementary school opens its doors next year.

Officials at Kings Crossing, a master-planned community at the intersection of Katy Hockley Cut Off and Stockdick School roads, are excited about the prospect of the nearby schools' arrival.

Carrie Brown, regional marketing manager for Kings Crossing developer Beazer Homes, said the possibility was high that future KISD schools were coming to the area along the Grand Parkway before any work started on the community that also is being built by Pulte Homes.

"With the school bond passing and now knowing for sure we'll have an elementary, junior high and high school so close by, that's a great thing for Kings Crossing and the residents who will live here," Brown said. "The level of education that children receive at Katy ISD is a huge draw for families to the area, and having those three schools right here so close by, we know that will be something people coming to Katy are looking for."

The 320-acre Kings Crossing development will have 864 single-family homes when complete. The first homes are expected to be ready for sale in the spring, Brown said. Homes will range from 1,400–4,000 square feet and will be priced from the $180,000s to the $370,000s.