FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (April 22, 2008) – Hillwood has sold 62 acres in its Sienna South community in Fort Bend County near Houston to the Fort Bend Independent School District. The site will be used to develop a high school and an elementary school for the fast-growing area.
Construction on the high school is expected to begin this summer with completion scheduled for August 2010.
Since Hillwood is still in the early stages of developing Sienna South, which it purchased last October, Johnson Development Corporation, developer of the nearby Sienna Plantation community, will assist in providing the necessary infrastructure, including road access and utilities, to serve the schools.
“One of Hillwood’s first priorities at Sienna South was to integrate school sites into its master plan,” said Brian Carlock, senior vice president of Hillwood Residential. “This property will help Fort Bend ISD better handle its growth while providing quality schools for the community. Hillwood appreciates the commitment by Johnson development to help expedite the construction of these schools.”
Plans for the 3,827-acre Sienna South property include approximately 7,000 single-family homes, as well as 300 acres for retail and commercial use. The schools sites are part of more than 100 acres that have been set aside for schools and churches. Another 1,000 acres will be preserved for parks and open spaces.
Hillwood also plans to build two amenity/recreation areas, each with multiple swimming pools and a clubhouse. Homes in the Hillwood community will be priced from $160,000 to $1 million. Home builders have not been selected, but the community will be a good opportunity for builders who are approaching buildout in the adjacent Sienna Plantation.
Sienna South is located in the ETJ of Missouri City, approximately 25 minutes from the Houston CBD, the Energy Corridor and the Medical District. The site is south of Sienna Plantation Country Club and east of the Brazos River.
Hillwood has already started engineering and predevelopment on the property. Construction of infrastructure is scheduled to begin later this year with the first lots set to be available in mid-2009.
Sienna Plantation is a comprehensive 7,000-acre master-planned community with a mix of land uses that includes residential, retail, commercial, civic, recreational, religious, educational and medical, and a variety of housing choices, including single-family and multi-family. Sienna Plantation offers more than 2,000 acres dedicated to park lands, golf courses, recreation areas, lakes, greenbelts and nature reserves.
“It’s impressive that two major development companies are cooperating so readily on a project of this magnitude,” said Michael Smith, general manager of Sienna Plantation. “This site will provide much-needed space to the district, which is continuing to experience tremendous growth. Plus, it will be ideally situated near two major residential developments. Sienna residents have already shown tremendous support of the district, particularly during the recent bond election which drew major voter turnout to Sienna precincts in support of bonds for new facilities.”
Since 1988 Hillwood has developed residential communities with innovative features and top recreation amenities. The company has delivered more than 18,000 single-family lots in more than 30 cities, primarily in North Texas. Communities currently under development include The Creeks of Preston Hollow in Dallas, Heritage in Fort Worth, Heartland in Kaufman County, Chisholm Ridge in Fort Worth, Liberty in Melissa, Saratoga in Fort Worth, Creekwood in Saginaw, Twin Creeks in Allen, Harmony in Red Oak, Gateway Estates in Glenn Heights and Falcon’s Lair in Mesquite. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Hillwood also is developing Bar BC Ranch.
In addition to its exceptional residential communities, Hillwood (www.hillwood.com), a Perot company, is best known for its development of the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas project, located 15 miles northwest of DFW Airport, the $420-million American Airlines Center and Victory district near downtown Dallas and the 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia development near Los Angeles.