The amount of available farmland not yet planned for development in Harris and Montgomery counties has decreased from hundreds of thousands of acres to less than 10,000 in the past 15-20 years, according to estimates by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.[/caption]Tomball and Magnolia—a landscape dominated by farmland for several generations of families—has been transformed into a bustling corridor by developers.
The amount of available farmland not yet planned for development in Harris and Montgomery counties has decreased significantly from hundreds of thousands of acres to less than 10,000 in the past 15–20 years, according to estimates by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
"There's not a whole lot of true agriculture [in the Tomball area] anymore," said Kelly Violette, executive director of the Tomball Economic Development Corporation. "If you look at the city's logo, we were based on agriculture, oil and the railroad. That was really a huge part of our history."
The purchasing of farmland by developers to create new subdivisions, retail centers, commercial buildings and roadways has been met with mixed sentiments from longtime property owners, including many families who have occupied the land for more than 100 years.
Tomball developments
Several hundred acres of farmland have been sold in Tomball, and construction is either underway or scheduled to break ground for development in the near future.
"Property owners are saying, 'Let's put it up for sale, and see if we can add something to our retirement,'" Violette said. "Land prices in Tomball are fairly high so there's an opportunity there."
Peck Station, a tribute to the city's original name of Peck, is a 34.5-acre tract planned for mixed-use development within the next two years near FM 2978 northwest of the nearby Baker Hughes campus. Tomball City Council adopted a resolution Dec. 15 granting the TEDC to spend an estimated $500,000 in infrastructure costs, including roadways, water, sewer and gas lines for Peck Station.
In addition, plans for the 63-acre Grand Parkway Town Center are in development at the southwest corner of Hwy. 249 and the Grand Parkway, Tomball City Manager George Shackelford said. The NewQuest Properties development is expected to feature Sam's Club, another major grocer, a junior anchor, 15 retail and restaurant pad sites and office space, with some stores slated to open in early 2016.
Despite a number of development projects in the works, Shackelford said it is important to maintain the city's close-knit feel while planning for growth.
"We're trying to maintain Old Town Tomball—the character of it," Shackelford said. "We've got to maintain that small-town atmosphere. That's just imperative."
Magnolia ripe for future growth
"I have nostalgia, and I hate to see things change, but at the same time, they are going to change. I have tried to be part of the change in a positive manner to take the best of the old and the best of the new and put it all together and come out with something really special." —Dorie Damuth, owner of the Damuth Flying D Ranch
Similar to Tomball, the Magnolia area has experienced similar growth and development in much the same way as Tomball, with thousands of farmland acres planned for development along the FM 1488, FM 149 and FM 1486 corridors.
"The people who want to keep the farmland are keeping it," Magnolia City Administrator Paul Mendes said. "I know a number of people who very easily could sell off their property but won't. When things get so valuable, it's hard to say [you'll keep the land when you] bought [it] for $2,000 an acre, [and] it is now up to $22,000 [an acre]. It's all up to the individuals, and they've got to make up their minds."
Mendes said the key areas for future development in the Magnolia area include the 6,500-acre Woodard Tract—previously owned by The Woodlands developer George Mitchell—located near FM 1774 and FM 1486. Construction on the property could begin in late 2015, and as many as 20,000 homes could be built on the property in the next 10–12 years. The 1,138-acre Magnolia 1138 Ltd., or Legacy Trust, tract along FM 1488 is planned to house about 3,000 homes and several retail centers, Mendes said.
In addition, the 163-acre 306 Montgomery Ltd. parcel at the corner of FM 149 and FM 1488—previously owned by the Damuth family—was annexed by the city in June. The city plans to begin construction in March 2015 to extend city water and sewer lines to the property by March 2016. Mendes said developers could begin construction on a number of retail centers, restaurants and townhomes on the tract within the next year, Mendes said.
Although these land tracts have been on the city's radar for some time, Mendes said sudden interest from developers has been sparked by plans to extend Hwy. 249 through Magnolia north to Navasota as part of the mobility project known as the Aggie Expressway or Highway.
"With the highway getting widened, the flyover will alleviate all this congestion in the area," Mendes said. "All [of a] sudden you have a high-volume corridor moving through there freely where before we had obstacles. We've been the main crossroads in the western part of Montgomery County, but we've been in a stranglehold with roads."
Transformation of Tomball farmland
With family roots dating back to the mid-1800s in Tomball, Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, has witnessed the community evolve from a small-scale farm town.
In 1996, the Hillegeist family sold a 133-acre tract to developers who created Powder Mill Estates next to Spring Creek Park. The remaining property in the Hillegeist family includes two parcels recognized by the state of Texas as century farms in continuous operation for at least 100 years—a 133-acre tract on Cedar Lane about 3 miles west of Tomball and a 112-acre tract on Telge Road where Hillegeist and his mother live about half a mile north of the Grand Parkway.
"Change is inevitable and change is hard, but change is good," Hillegeist said. "With those emotions comes that heritage that you feel like you're giving up. It's positive and it's encouraging yet there's uncertainty and anger because of change coming. Families must give up property, and it could mean their livelihood."
Hillegeist said he watched as several farming sites were sold and turned into residential neighborhoods and retail and commercial developments. The site where the Canyon Gate and NorthPointe subdivisions are located along Hwy. 249 was once farmland with corn fields, and Hillegeist said he often went fishing in three lakes on the land now occupied by the Pinecrest Forest subdivision.
Similarly, the 600-lot Hayden Lakes subdivision under construction on Boudreaux Road was once farmland with cattle and vegetables, and the site of Wildwood Estates along Hwy. 249 was once owned by the McCracken family and used to raise hogs. In addition, oil was discovered in Tomball in 1933 for the first time on the 700 acres formerly owned by the Kobs family—now known as Willowcreek Ranch on Telge Road.
Magnolia's changing landscape
In Magnolia, the family history of Dorie Damuth, owner of the Damuth Flying D Ranch along Community Road for 32 years, goes back about 150 years in the area. Over time, Damuth has witnessed several developers approach her family and purchase several hundred acres for development.
"I have nostalgia, and I hate to see things change, but at the same time, they are going to change," Damuth said. "I have tried to be part of the change in a positive manner to take the best of the old and the best of the new and put it all together and come out with something really special."
Prior to the death of her husband in 2004, the Damuths operated eight breeding pastures on 700–800 acres before selling their property to create the Thousand Oaks subdivision on FM 1488. About five years ago, the Damuths sold an additional 68 acres of property on Dobbin Hufsmith Road for development. This fall, the 163-acre property the Damuths leased, now known as 306 Montgomery Ltd., was sold to developer AFG Management Company. Damuth said she hopes to maintain a small pasture with her award-winning longhorns on the back part of the land.
"I love the longhorns, but as I lose the land, I have to decrease my number of cattle," she said. "I'm trying to place them in small herds around the country, and people will understand the premiere breeding quality."
Damuth Flying D Ranch, which evolved from Half Circle J Ranch in the mid-1800s, is one of the few farms, including the Hillegeist properties, which are recognized as Texas Century Farms. Damuth and some of her family members now live on about 35 acres of land in Magnolia and maintain about 175–200 longhorns on five breeding pastures. The Damuth family has no plans to sell the remaining land in the foreseeable future, she said.
"Most of the land is owned by developers. I would say that now there's less than 10–15 percent of individuals [who] have owned the land for a long time." —Gary Underwood, director of the agriculture appraisal section at the Harris County Appraisal District
Future growth
As growth continues, Mike Heimer, Montgomery County extension agent for agriculture and natural resources with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, said there are an estimated 4,500 farmland acres left in Montgomery County that are not yet planned for future development.
"All the timbered acres are being bought up and being developed for residential use," Heimer said. "You go up [FM] 1486 and it used to be all [George] Mitchell property. Now—whichever direction you go on Nichols Sawmill [Road] and Hardin Store Road—[the land] is all full of folks now. It's escalated much more in the last five years."
Gary Underwood, director of the agriculture appraisal section at the Harris County Appraisal District, said he anticipates the growth trends seen within the past five years in the Tomball and Magnolia areas will continue into the future to keep pace with the success of the energy industry. Underwood said it is difficult to estimate the total amount of farmland acreage in the area since the number is constantly fluctuating.
"Most of the land is owned by developers," Underwood said. "I would say that now there's less than 10–15 percent of individuals [who] have owned the land for a long time. Now as far as the older people [who] may have owned property—if someone comes and offers them money for it, it's just real hard to hold onto [their land]."
