Bridgeland Community, Texas
Bridgeland Community is an 11,400-acre (46 km2) master-planned community under construction in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, to the northwest of Houston between U.S. Route 290 and Interstate 10. Bisecting Bridgeland is Segment E of the Grand Parkway, a 15.2-mile thoroughfare for which construction broke ground in 2011 and opened in December 2013.
Planned for 20,000 homes and approximately 65,000 residents, 30 miles northwest of downtown Houston, approximately 8,500 people now live in Bridgeland. Bridgeland is being developed by The Howard Hughes Corporation, which also develops The Woodlands, Columbia, and Summerlin. Bridgeland was named Community of the Year in 2009 by the National Association of Home Builders and was Developer of the Year in 2011 by the Texas Association of Builders.
History
Bridgeland is located along the eastern boundary of the Katy Prairie and traversed by a portion of the Cypress Creek riparian corridor. In the mid-1800s, European settlers began to establish small farms within the Katy Prairie, growing corn, potatoes and cotton and raising cattle. The land primarily became used for rice farming during the 1940s and through the next two decades. After rice production ceased, the fields were converted to improved pastures to provide foraging areas for cattle. Approximately 10,167 acres were purchased for development in 2003 and sales of new homes in Bridgeland began in 2006. An addition of 1,234 acres acquired in 2007 increased the development's total acreage to 11,401 acres.
Education
Students in Bridgeland's first village, Lakeland Village; and those in Parkland Village, attend schools in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD).
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
- Margie Sue Pope Elementary School, Jim and Pam Wells Elementary School, and Sue McMichael McGown Elementary School
- Sprague Middle School
- Bridgeland High School
Pope Elementary School is in The Cove subdivision. In 2012 construction started on Elementary No. 53, located on a 14.5-acre parcel of land in Bridgeland. In November 2012 the CFISD board approved the final name of the school as Margie Sue Pope Elementary School; it was named after a longtime CFISD teacher. VLK Architects designed the school, which was built by Gamma Construction Co. Pope Elementary, with a cost of $14.6 million, was the first on-site school in Bridgeland. The Bridgeland organization donated 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) to CFISD so the school could be built; the school occupies 16.3 acres (6.6 ha), and the school building has 112,594 square feet (10,460.3 m2) of space. It opened in August 2013, it is the first of nine on-site schools planned. Bridgeland's master plan also includes on-site preschools and childcare facilities.
Jim and Pam Wells Elementary School, another elementary school in Bridgeland, was scheduled to open in 2017. It was previously Elementary School #55, and is located on a 128-acre (52 ha) plot of land which will house other schools. Jim and Pam Wells were also longtime CFISD teachers and employees.
Waller Independent School District
- Robert Roads Elementary
- Waller Junior High
- Waller High School
Colleges
- Lone Star College
Histories of schools
In the beginning residents were zoned to Robison Elementary School, Spillane Middle School, and Cypress Woods High School.
Residents were at one point rezoned to Warner Elementary School, and Cypress Ranch High School. In 2017 the entire development was to be rezoned to Bridgeland High School.
Other school districts
Future phases of Bridgeland will be served by Katy Independent School District and the Waller Independent School District.
Villages
Bridgeland's master plan consists of four distinct villages: Lakeland Village, Creekland Village, Prairieland Village and Parkland Village. Each village will have clusters of neighborhoods anchored by a village center with amenities, retail, restaurants and more. Schools and parks also will be strategically located within each village.
Central to all villages will be Bridgeland Town Center, offering residents a convenient place to shop, work and have fun. The town center may include hospitals, schools, retail, entertainment, employment and more.
Lakeland Village
Lakeland Village consists of the following sections (neighborhoods):
- The Shores: The Shores is located approximately two miles west of Bridgeland's main entry on North Bridgeland Lake Parkway at Fry Road. It was the first community of new homes to be offered in Bridgeland and is slated for just under 600 homes. Surrounded by more than 100 acres of lakes, The Shores is located across the street from Oak Meadow Park and Cypress Creek Trail. House-Hahl Trail also runs through the neighborhood. Several playgrounds also are located within The Shores.
- First Bend: First Bend is located off North Bridgeland Lake Parkway approximately 1.5 miles from Bridgeland's main entry. The community welcomed its first residents in May 2007. First Bend has 402 homesites in six separate neighborhoods and is surrounded by more than 60 acres of lakes. The community also is home to Turtle Lane and Butterfly Garden.
- The Cove: The Cove is located just west of The Shores along North Bridgeland Lake Parkway. It is also home to a Cy-Fair ISD elementary school Margie Sue Pope Elementary School. The Cove also features areas that are unique within Bridgeland's master plan, including an aromatic garden, an island park, a formal rose garden and a lakeside maze. A central park area offers one of several open play fields, a playground with equipment for toddlers and older children and a rain garden with butterfly houses. Bordering the park is an extension of the House-Hahl Trail, with several reforestation-planting beds to enhance the area's landscape. Bridgeland's model home park also is located in The Cove.
- Water Haven: Water Haven is located just west of The Cove along North Bridgeland Lake Parkway. Development of the community started in 2010. Water Haven devotes approximately 22 acres to parks, most of which will offer playground equipment. The House-Hahl Trail also weaves through Water Haven.
- Lakeland Heights: Lakeland Heights is located on Fry Road just south of Bridgeland's main entrance. It was introduced in 2010 as a Traditional Neighborhood Development. In designing Lakeland Heights, architectural firm Looney Ricks Kiss extensively researched traditional Houston neighborhoods, including West University Place, The Heights, Southampton and Southside Place, for architectural inspiration. The result is an unincorporated community that incorporates Craftsman, English Tudor, Classical and French housing styles to create neighborhoods that appear to have evolved over time. The community is planned for 350 homes and will also include Lakeland Heights Village Center, which will be home to retail, restaurants and services. Lakeland Heights is adjacent to Lakeland Activity Center and has several public spaces, including Central Park, Rabbit Run, Waterway Park and Festival Park, which offers a performance pavilion for community concerts and other productions.
- Hidden Creek: Construction in Hidden Creek began in the summer of 2015. Hidden Creek is located west of Lakeland Heights and south of The Cove. This new community will host 1,000 home sites, a 20-acre park, and 142 acres of lakes upon completion. Each neighborhood in Hidden Creek has been named after one of Texas’ noteworthy creek systems. Additionally, the street names complement a variety of historical and geographical facets of the respective creeks.
Parkland Village
The Overall concept and theme of Parkland Village is based on the idea of living within a park. All neighborhoods have been named after Texas State Parks and the street names are representative of historical information, points of interest, flora and fauna found within these parks. The Grand Opening of the Model Home Park was held March 24, 2018. This section will ultimately consist of 3,100 homes with prices ranging from $240,000 to $1 million plus.
Parkland Village consists of the following sections with more to be added as the development grows:
- Cedar Hill
- Cleburne
- Cooper Lake
- Enchanted Rock
- Honey Creek
- Kickapoo Cavern
- Longhorn Cavern
- Lost Maples
- McKinney Falls
- Meridian
- Mission Tejas
- Monument Hill
- Seminole Canyon
- Sheldon Lake
- Colorado Bend