Development of master-planned communities aims to meet demand, add area retail options[/caption][polldaddy poll=8910298]
Developers of master-planned communities in Sugar Land and Missouri City are expanding their commercial and residential developments to meet the continuing demand of homebuyers and businesses in Fort Bend County.
Johnson Development Corp. is aiming to meet housing needs by debuting a new residential village in Sienna Plantation, as well as offer new housing in its newest master-planned community, Harvest Green. The development company is also expanding commercial and retail opportunities in the Riverstone and Imperial Sugar Land master-planned communities with new retail centers under design.
Jeff Wiley, president of the Fort Bend Economic Council, said as cities within Fort Bend County continue to grow, so will the demand for infrastructure, housing and retail. Wiley said those demands are ultimately fulfilled by master-planned communities.
“Master-planned communities help keep up with growth in the extraterritorial jurisdictions because they attract commercial [and] residential [options] and provide infrastructure to address mobility needs,” he said.
Alvin San-Miguel, vice president and general manager for Johnson Development, said its new developments are projected to relieve the housing and commercial demands the area has experienced over the last decade.
“There is still some pent up demand, and we are closing the gap on a lot of the economic forecast that we are tied into,” San Miguel said. “We have a lot of lots in the pipeline and a lot of developers have put a lot of lots on the ground.”
Residential | Harvest Green
Harvest Green, Johnson Development’s fifth master-planned community in Fort Bend County, is close to delivering the community’s first home lots by the end of summer.
The preliminary plans, released in March 2014, depict more than 2,000 home lots to be constructed over the next seven to 10 years, said Shay Shafie, general manager for Johnson Development’s Harvest Green and Imperial Sugar Land master-planned communities.
Shafie said the primary driving force behind the master-planned community is its proximity to the Grand Parkway.
“Fort Bend County continues to be a desirable location to live, and Harvest Green is positioned well considering the adjacency to the Grand Parkway,” he said.
Harvest Green will become the first agriculture neighborhood in the Greater Houston area, according to Johnson Development officials. Residents will have access to the neighborhood’s on-site farm to pick various produce and vegetation. Every home within Harvest Green is also designed to come with a backyard garden.
Jan Poscovsky, a real estate agent for RE/MAX Fine Properties, said Harvest Green is already gaining attention from potential homebuyers due to the community’s agriculture approach. She said the agricultural amenities appeal to a larger demographic of homebuyers looking to utilize home and neighborhood gardens.
“A lot of people who want to have their piece of the country and cannot get it are going to [be interested],” she said. “If [homebuilders] are aggressive with the pricing, I think they will appeal to a lot of people who want to be able to have a garden.”
Mixed-use development | Imperial Sugar Land
Johnson Development is also heading a new mixed-use retail center within the Imperial Sugar Land master-planned community located along Hwy. 90 and Hwy. 6.
Although a construction timeline for the development has not been determined, the site will include 260,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurants, Class A office space, 252,000 square feet of luxury residential apartments and a 100,000-square-foot, 120-room boutique hotel in the former Imperial Sugar refinery Char House upon build-out.
Shafie said once repurposing of the former refinery is complete, the retail development is projected to generate between $800 million and $900 million in capital investment.
Residential | Sienna Plantation
Sienna Plantation debuted the first 500 home lots within the Village of Sawmill Lake in early May as part of the 3,700-acre extension acquired by Toll Brothers in 2013.
San Miguel said the new village is being constructed to revitalize housing options within Sienna Plantation—which was nearing build-out in 2014—and to provide more options for affordable housing. Due to demand for new homes in Sienna Plantation, San Miguel said the new village had 32 home sales by May 17.
“Having something a little more affordable to reach out to different markets is something we have been lacking for a couple of years, and we are happy to have that back,” he said.
Poscovsky said she expects homes in the Village of Sawmill Lake to sell quickly due to affordable options within Sienna Plantation.
“The availability of homes under $300,000 is unheard of today,” she said. “The retail market is so tight right now, especially for homebuyers, so it is a race to get the house you want in the market you want.”
The majority of the first 500 lots should sell within the next 12 months, San Miguel said. To prepare for additional demand, Johnson Development is designing a second phase for the Village of Sawmill Lake, which includes an additional 500 lots to be available to homebuyers in 2016.
“We look at certain market conditions and under the current market conditions we would like to deliver lots to the builders that gives them close to a year’s worth of inventory,” he said. “Once a program gets started, you want to make sure your builders stay supplied with lots.”
As home sales in Village of Sawmill Lake increase over the next year, Johnson Development is slated to construct a new amenity center in 2016. The center will include an event lawn, a community building, meeting room space and a recreational water attraction, a similar layout to the amenity centers already developed in Sienna Plantation, San Miguel said.
“Any facilities that we build in the Village of Sawmill Lake and the other villages that are to come in the future will be just as well built and thought-out as the others we have built,” San Miguel said.
Commercial development | Riverstone
Although the Riverstone master-planned community is expected to see residential build-out in the next four to five years, a new retail center is slated to bring additional commercial services tailored to Riverstone residents.
Riverstone Commercial Development LLC, a Sugar Land-based development company, purchased a 9.5-acre lot from Johnson Development in May to construct the new retail center at the University Boulevard and LJ Parkway intersection.
The new center is expected to bring services not readily available to Riverstone residents, said Kristen Barker, senior vice president at Wulfe & Co.—the development company that represented Riverstone Commercial Development LLC. during the transaction.
“It will offer more immediate ability to access goods and services instead of having to drive all the way to Hwy. 6,” she said. “Those services that we will have in those nine acres will be convenient for residents and [cater] specifically to them.”
Construction on the center is slated to begin at the beginning of 2016, Barker said. Johnson Development is working with the city of Sugar Land on the zoning of the retail center, said Doug Adolph, Sugar Land assistant director of communications.
Once approved, the 9.5-acre center is designed to attract medical offices, restaurants, retail and a future Montessori school, Barker said.
Barker said the intersection at University Boulevard and LJ Parkway is attractive for a retail center within Riverstone due to the substantial growth the master-planned community has seen over the last 15 years. According to a demographic report conducted by Wulfe & Co., the University Boulevard and LJ Parkway intersection has seen more than 50 percent population growth since 2000, with another 16 percent growth projected for the next five years.
“It is the center of that Riverstone trade area,” she said. “It is the main intersection that creates that commercial opportunity.”
