Home Care In Hockley, TX

The Grand Prairie, a new master-planned community in Hockley, is taking shape after Concourse Development broke ground June 14, according to a July 5 news release from Concourse Development.

What you need to know

Located along Warren Ranch Road and Hwy. 290 within the Coastal Prairie Conservancy, the development spans 1,730 acres and will feature 450 acres of parks and green spaces, according to the release. The centerpiece of the community is a 6,700-square-foot open-air pavilion.

In addition, a 70-acre lake is designed to serve as a recreational area for residents while also serving the Harris County Flood Control District for flood and drainage control.

The development will offer the following amenities for its residents:

What they’re saying

“Our mission for The Grand Prairie has been to purposely develop a serene and sustainable retreat where residents have the freedom to easily connect with nature and with one another,” Concourse Director of Development Jeb Kolby said in the release.

What to expect

The community will be zoned to Waller ISD, according to the release. I.T. Holleman Elementary School, Waller Junior High School and Waller High School have been designated as the schools serving the area.

The development will initially offer 481 homes. Model homes are set to open in the fall with residents expected to move in by the end of the year, according to Concourse Development.

Real Estate and Development Reporter

Shaheryar is a reporter at Community Impact, focusing on real estate and development within the Houston metro area. He earned his degree from the University of Houston-Downtown in the spring of 2023 and began interning with CI the following summer. Prior to CI, he actively contributed to UHD’s student publication, The Dateline, and was part of the college’s radio station, UHD iRadio. Beyond his dedication to reporting, Shaheryar is an avid soccer fan, and Manchester United is his favorite team.

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The view from a nearly 40-foot hill in the northwest exurb of Hockley gives a glimpse into the future for one of the Houston area's top-selling real estate markets.

Standing atop the hill bifurcating a manmade lake, one can see cattle in the distance chomping on prairie grass on the historic Warren Ranch. To the east, bulldozers dot the horizon where construction began on Concourse Development’s 1,730-acre master-planned community, the Grand Prairie. Along with Johnson Development’s neighboring but separate 1,622-acre Jubilee community, more than 3,300 acres of former agricultural land off U.S. 290 west of the Grand Parkway are poised to be transformed into a string of sprawling residential communities with a total of as many as 10,000 homes.

The projects are among real estate developers’ broader push into rural areas of Harris County as homebuilders respond to a nearly insatiable demand for housing west of Houston. But as development encroaches on the Katy Prairie area, the county is grappling with how to balance the desire for more housing with preserving a habitat critical to managing flood risk in a fast-growing region. It’s one of the biggest challenges yet to the future of west Houston’s explosive growth, but the Grand Prairie community could provide a roadmap for real estate developers and the county as they seek to strike a balance between development and conservation.

Concourse formed a public-private partnership with the Harris County Flood Control District and local water utility district to build out a stormwater management system that’s being heralded as a potential model for flood-prone areas of Harris County. The heart of the pilot project is a 65-acre lake anchoring an 80-acre public park where anyone can walk, bike or kayak. The lake can retain and detain 420 acre-feet of water from the Grand Prairie community and the surrounding area; that's enough to cover about 420 football fields with one foot of water.

“This (public-private partnership) is a model for the future,” said Tina Petersen, Harris County Flood Control District director.

For more than a decade Harris County has been debating how to better manage flooding risk in the fast-growing region encompassing the Cypress Creek watershed, a 267-square-mile area with more than 450,000 residents in northwest Harris County.

During heavy rains, the Cypress Creek watershed drains excess water into the Addicks reservoir, which is crucial to easing flooding in west Houston and along Buffalo Bayou. When Hurricane Harvey destroyed thousands of properties in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, the need to bolster western Harris County’s flood management systems came into focus. The torrid population growth of west Houston only heightens the need as development pushes into historic prairie ecosystems.

RELATED: Houston keeps paving over rain-absorbent Katy prairie. Here's why that matters

Paving over pasture and prairie increases flood risks. Native plant roots run deep into the soil, absorbing significant rainwater. The varied vegetation slows rainwater that drains into nearby waterways. That is one reason why real estate developers are required to build elaborate stormwater detention and retention systems in the region, but some critics still worry about the cumulative effect of multiple developments.

A proposal to potentially build a third massive reservoir capable of handling the overflow from the Cypress Creek watershed has not yet gained traction, said Gary Bezemek, planning division manager at Harris County Flood Control. In the meantime, the district is pursuing several smaller projects to chip away at the broader challenge, including this partnership with Concourse Development.

Whereas real estate firms typically focus on individual stormwater drainage, Concourse took a wider approach by partnering with the local water utility district and Harris County Flood Control to build the 65-acre retention and detention lake. The basin can hold 420 acre-feet of water, of which about 170 acre-feet are expected to handle water runoff from its own project and 250 acre-feet for the county. Grand Prairie's main large detention lake is part of a system of detention basins throughout the community that can hold a total of 1,664 acre-feet of water.

Harris County Flood Control contributed $10 million to construction of the main detention lake, which is expected to benefit the broader Cypress Creek watershed, reducing the strain on the Addicks Reservoir during heavy rain, according to the flood control district. Water Control and Improvement District 164 will reimburse Concourse for its share of the project over time, said Howard Cohen, an attorney with Schwartz, Page and Harding working with the WCID. Concourse did not have an immediate estimate for how much money it expects to be reimbursed.

Although it would take hundreds more projects like this to fully mitigate the flood risk in the Cypress Creek watershed, if successful, the county could pursue similar projects elsewhere, Bezemek said.

“Instead of some obscure detention pond, together we were able to really raise the bar and deliver a better product for everybody that will absolutely be a public amenity,” said Harry Masterson, co-founder of Concourse Development.

It's not unusual for a developer to to make a detention basin the center of a larger recreational green space. But "a private developer partnering with the county to provide additional detention — that's probably a unique thing. I think it’s a good idea,” added Larry Dunbar, a Houston engineer and attorney who is not associated with the project but specializes in flood management in the prairieland.

PODCAST: What Hurricane Harvey did (and didn't) teach us about building in the floodplain

Dunbar, along with groups such as the nonprofit Coastal Prairie Conservancy (formerly the Katy Prairie Conservancy) think the county should require more stringent runoff mitigation overall across Harris County. Still, while the conservancy remains “watchful” of the potential of any new development, the nonprofit’s CEO Mary Anne Piacentini applauded Concourse for creating a public-facing park with islands in the lake acting as a wildlife refuge.

In past decades the land where the Grand Prairie and where the neighboring new community Jubilee is planned hasn't been pristine prairie, but was used for rice farming and raising cattle, Piacentini said. Jubilee developer Johnson Development is planning to turn some of that land into 30 acres of parks and 270 acres of greenspace and waterways for residents at its 4,900-home community. Johnson also will build a stormwater detention system capable of handling of hundreds of acre-feet of water.

For the Grand Prairie, Concourse has proposed restoring some of the native prairie by working with landscape architect Clark Condon to help plant native grasses along 18 miles of pedestrian pathways within the Grand Prairie community.

“We’re thinking of the timeline in terms of generations. What we want is native grasses and wildflowers that pay homage to the history of land,” Masterson said.

Andrew Thomas is in the movie business. The movie theater business, that is. The Houston owner runs three cinemas in the area—but locals balked when they saw Thomas' beloved drive-in recently listed for sale at $5,512,220.

Thomas says customers began calling, sharing their stories of why they love the drive-in, from first dates to memorable family moments. There's also a Reddit thread of customers remiscing about their times there and mourning its loss. Thomas groans and says jokingly "This has made it even worse!"

Thomas and his wife, Juanita, don't want to sell the Showboat Theater in Hockley, the small town that's only about 30 miles northwest of downtown Houston. But the movie business is not all bright lights and ticket sales—the pandemic was not kind to theaters and the current economy is not helping with the increasing costs of renting films from movie studios, food vendors, labor wages and even electricity.

"When you look at all of those things, we've just been in a situation where there are more months in which we are not making hardly anything or sometimes having a bit of a deficit," Thomas explains. "It's not sustainable with the market dynamics that currently exist."

Showboat Theater did see a bump in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic, Thomas says, as people focused on outdoor entertainment options with their groups. But soon, the theater began to experience what all those in the cinema industry were facing: A lack of new movies to show.

"As much as people may enjoy the experience of watching a movie outside, a core component of that is there is a movie they want to see," Thomas says. "That's always the driver of the cinema experience."

Thomas explains that it was normal to see about 140 major movies released every year between 2009 and 2019. The pandemic changed everything—with the 2022 season finally crawling back to higher numbers with 70 major movie releases. The worst part was the lack of family-friendly movies for a venue that typically caters to younger viewers.

"We've had to play a lot of R-rated stuff because it was the only thing available," Thomas says. "Every small market theater is in the same boat."

Thomas points out that even larger companies are feeling the effects, such as Cineworld, which owns Regency theaters, declaring bankruptcy last year.

The land around Showboat has undergone a complete overhaul since the original owner, Chris Rumfolo, opened the theater 18 years ago for a double feature of Ice Age 2 and Aquamarine. Homes now surround the property, with new developments and retail spaces planned. This change in scenery has led to potential buyers eyeing the property as an investment.

There are three types of people interested in the property, according to Thomas. Those who want to tear down the theater and develop the land, speculative investors who plan to hold onto the property while the land gains value and then there are the thousands of customers who want to keep Showboat's gates open.

Thomas says that customers continue to call asking when the theater plans to shut its doors. For many, it is a family tradition to spend at least one summer night watching a flick under the stars. "It's an experience," he beams. "We have folks that drive from Louisiana to come and visit."

Customers can assume that the theater will remain open, Thomas says, because he does not believe a sale will be finalized before the end of summer. "I think the entire summer season people can just assume that they'll be able to come out and enjoy something," he adds.

"There's even the possibility that we don't end up selling," Thomas says, and adds that the movie release schedule for 2024 looks very promising, with a larger slate of films similar to what the industry used to release before the pandemic. "If we were able to make it there, I think the ability for the business to proceed forward for many years is a reality," Thomas says. "It's just how do we get there?"

Thomas says customers continue to reach out and ask how they can help. The answer is simple: buy a ticket, purchase popcorn from the concession stand and tune your radios to one of Showboat's two stations.

"We would love to figure out a way to keep it going," Thomas says. "It's been really meaningful to see that what we're doing matters to (customers)."

Corrections and Amplifications: Hockley, Texas is northwest of downtown Houston. A previous version of this article stated that Hockley was southeast of downtown Houston. (Feb. 7, 2023)

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Residents of the Three Pines subdivision in Hockley are protesting the pending approval of a wastewater treatment plant and residential development set to go up near their homes in 2022, citing the plant’s discharge into Spring Creek, which they believe could affect communities downstream.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave preliminary approval to the project, despite listening to complaints at a public hearing in February.

The plant would treat domestic wastewater before discharging it into Spring Creek, according to the permit’s application, which also noted there were no nearby wastewater services available in the area.

FM 2920 Land Company, Ltd. filed the TCEQ application for the plant, which is intended to serve an 82-acre manufactured housing development known as The Enclave Rose Hill. The company is headed up by developer Jeff Mickler, president of Houston-area construction company Jacob White Construction and CEO of property management company Live Lone Star, according to his LinkedIn profile and those companies' websites.

The development of The Enclave Rose Hill is expected to break ground in the third quarter of 2022 and to go live in 2023. DeAnn Thigpen, whose public relations firm Rolling Water Group represents Live Lone Star, provided a statement on behalf of the company to Community Impact Newspaper, saying the company is continuing to work with residents about their concerns, citing proposals about a buffer area that could be enacted.

"We are committed to working with residents and being a part of the community," Thigpen said. "We are continuing to have face-to-face meetings with neighbors surrounding the various sides of the project, many who have been very understanding and forthcoming about potential concerns."

The TCEQ provided responses to public comments in late April. Before the final decision can be made, residents have the opportunity to file for a contested case hearing, which would be heard by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

Danielle Comeau, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said she is “frustrated” with the processes that allowed the projects to happen.

"It just feels like these government agencies are trying to pass the buck when it comes to these processes," Comeau said. "They're supposed to be helping us."

Environmental concerns

Concerns were raised during the February public meeting about the plant’s discharge into Spring Creek, potentially affecting communities downstream. In a response to public comments, the TCEQ said the draft permit was developed in accordance to the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards, and two reviews had found “no significant” water quality decrease in Spring Creek.

“In order to achieve the goal of maintaining a level of water quality sufficient to protect existing water body uses, the draft permit contains several water quality specific parameter requirements that limit the potential impact of the discharge on the receiving waters,” TCEQ wrote.

Residents have also alleged the plant could damage several wetlands connected to water pathways, which are protected by the federal government. While the federal Fish and Wildlife Service maps out wetlands, construction activities relating to them are regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The FWS’ wetlands mapper shows at least one wetland within the project boundaries, with several others near the subdivision. FM 2920 Land Company’s TCEQ permit application said its treated wastewater would flow into Spring Creek through a man-made ditch on the site but did not describe a scope of work involving wetlands.

Lynda Yezzi, a spokesperson for the Corps’ Galveston District, told Community Impact Newspaper that anyone attempting to do work requiring the filling of wetlands would need to file a separate permit. FM 2920 Land Company did not confirm whether the company had filed a permit application.

“In a very simple sense, if a permit request involves the placement of fill into waters of the U.S.—which includes wetlands—then requesters will likely need some type of authorization from the Corps to perform the work,” Yezzi said.

In TCEQ’s preliminary decision, written by Executive Director Toby Baker, the agency said the plant was “not expected to have an effect on any federal endangered or threatened aquatic or aquatic-dependent species or proposed species or their critical habitat.”

Baker also wrote the permit did not require the federal Environmental Protection Agency to review endangered or threatened species.

Thigpen said the company conducted Threatened and Endangered Species assessments as well as assessments of the area's wetlands for a "comprehensive environmental resource" as part of the TCEQ application.

"After thorough reviews of all data by both engineering, scientists and our legal experts, the site was chosen because sensitive species and habitats were not present within the proposed development, primarily because this tract of land is and has been used for silviculture, the reason for the ongoing timber harvesting," Thigpen said.

Frustrations with the process

Comeau was one of several residents frustrated by the TCEQ’s permitting process. She said she was confused at the agency’s seeming acceptance of the application without question.

"There's a lot of people concerned," Comeau said. "We keep hearing, it's not our problem, call the engineering department, call the building department. It's very frustrating. I just don't think the county understands."

Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said in a statement to Community Impact Newspaper that he had met with residents and passed on concerns to the county's engineering department, the county attorney's office and the TCEQ.

"My office is working with those agencies to ensure that they hold developers of the site to strict compliance with all rules and regulations governing the site," Cagle said.

Tree clearing on the plant site was visibly underway as of May. However, an email from the Harris County Engineering Department that Community Impact Newspaper obtained from Comeau said the department was scheduled to inspect the site in the first week of May, and the county's Enforcement Coordinator Debjani Chakravarty said the project had not received any permits. The engineering department did not respond to Community Impact Newspaper’s request for comment.

Thigpen said construction work was "not underway," and the Harris County inspection was related to permitting for a storage container and a mobile office for logging operations.

Residents have until May 30 to request a contested case hearing, which TCEQ’s commissioners must approve or deny at their meeting, per the agency’s website. Should the commissioners deny the request, residents can appeal the denial before then filing suit with the Travis County District Court.

Reporter, North Houston Metro

Jishnu joined Community Impact Newspaper as a metro reporter in July 2021. Previously, he worked as a digital producer for a television station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and studied at Syracuse University's Newhouse School. Originally from New Jersey, Jishnu covers the North Houston metro area, including Community Impact Newspaper's Montgomery County markets. In his spare time, Jishnu is a soccer fan and enjoys learning about wildlife and the environment. Follow him on Twitter @jishnews for news updates

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The development company Kickerillo and Bean announced its new Stallion Lakes development in Hockley near the Montgomery County-Waller County border on July 14. Kickerillo and Bean is a partnership between developer Kickerillo Companies and Tomball resident and show horse owner Bill Bean.

The development is located on Magnolia Road near the Houston Oaks Golf Club within the boundary of Waller ISD. According to the announcement, the development will span 394 acres in total, and lots will range from 1.5-3.5 acres. Prices will range from $300,000-$690,000.

Kelli Kickerillo, the CEO of Kickerillo Companies, described the reception to the community as “so exciting” in the press announcement.

“This land truly takes your breath away,” Kickerillo said. “It is an escape from the city set on some of the most beautiful property that we have seen.”

Diane Kingshill, a real estate agent with Houston-based realty company Compass, said the project would consist of 115 lots in total, divided into three phases of development. She said Phase 1 is composed of 65 lots closer to Magnolia Road, while Phases 2 and 3 would likely be offered simultaneously in February 2024.

“The lots have been planted, and we already have 23 lot reservations,” Kingshill said.

Each lot will have electricity, a private water well, a natural gas connection, a fiber-optic cable and an aerobic septic system, according to Kingshill. She said the development would not be in a municipal utility district, or MUD. No MUDs are located near the property’s planned location, according to the Texas Water Districts Map Viewer.

Kingshill said that while the development was attracting interest from a variety of people, there were “a lot of empty nesters.”

“We’ve got a lot of people who have grandkids that just want to have a family compound to bring their grandkids,” she said.

Residents in other parts of Hockley have raised concerns with development in the area. According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, Montgomery County saw building permits for single-family units increase countywide from 5,290 in 2017 to 12,227 in 2021.

Asked about the impact of development in the area, Kingshill said the developers wanted to preserve the “rolling terrain” of the area but suggested that development could add some amenities as well.

“Sometimes having development around brings in good things as well, like restaurants and retail, so you have amenities that come with all that.” Kingshill said.

A community map of Stallion Lakes can be viewed here.

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