News Article | 10/3/2007

Perot’s Hillwood buys Sienna Plantation South

Sienna Plantation in Missouri City has a new neighbor.

Hillwood, a Dallas-based development company, has purchased the 3,827-acre Sienna Plantation South to build a community of about 7,000 single-family homes. About 300 acres will be used for retail and commercial development.

The property was purchased from The Godi Group of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Hillwood spokesman David Pelletier said that the company would keep the same name, Sienna Plantation South, for the new development. He declined to disclose the sale price.

Hillwood, a Ross Perot company, is known for its development of the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas project northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the $420-million American Airlines Center in Victory Park in Dallas and the 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia development near Los Angeles.

The purchase of Sienna Plantation South is the company’s first project in the Houston market and the largest residential property the company has purchased, said Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Residential, a division of Hillwood.

Sienna Plantation South is in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Missouri City and is south of Sienna Plantation Country Club between the Brazos River and FM 521.

Plans for Sienna Plantation South, which is in the Fort Bend Independent School District, include several school sites. The company plans to set aside 100 acres for schools and churches, and more than 1,000 acres for parks and open spaces.

Hillwood also plans to build two recreation areas, each with multiple swimming pools and a clubhouse.

Homes in Sienna Plantation South will be priced from $160,000 to $1 million. Home builders have not been selected.

Hillwood has started engineering on the property. Construction of infrastructure is scheduled to begin in 2008, with the first lots set to be available in mid-2009.

The city had approved a development agreement with the previous owners.

Last month, Balda briefed Missouri City City Council about the project.

Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen said he is glad that Hillwood bought the property.

“If they do what they have done in other places, it is going to be a very, very first-class facility,” he said.

The city wanted to ensure that the integrity of the plantation as well as the history of the place are preserved, Owen said, and the developers have agreed to do so.

The Hillwood project will open up the back end of Sienna for development and provide an additional access to Sienna Plantation, he said.

“Sienna Plantation South is the perfect project for Hillwood to enter the Houston market,” said Brian Carlock, vice president of Hillwood Residential, who oversaw the purchase.

“The property’s heritage and its beauty with centuries-old oak trees and proximity to the Brazos River offers us a tremendous opportunity to create trails, lakes and other amenities that will make it a great place to live,” he said.