Home Care In Fulshear, TX

“I never thought I’d see one this large, especially in Texas.”

FULSHEAR, Texas – A massive alligator was spotted hanging out in a Fulshear community over the weekend.

The gator, which now has the nickname Shelia, was seen basking in the evening sun in the Cross Creek Ranch neighborhood on Sunday evening.

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Neighbors and people passing by stopped to snap pictures and marvel at the giant prehistoric predator that decided to take a rest just off of a sidewalk.

“I have never seen one that large,” Jacoby Davis told KPRC 2. “This was a true gift from nature to me. I never thought I’d see one this large, especially in Texas.”

Alligators are part of the Southeast Texas ecosystem.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, alligators are commonly spotted in “swamps, rivers, bayous, and marshes of the southern U.S., including the eastern third of Texas.” Alligators are commonly found in or near freshwater. However, gators can also tolerate brackish, or a mixture of salt and fresh water.

While they’re not rare, seeing a big gator up close and personal like Davis did on Sunday is an opportunity he couldn’t pass up for a photo.

“Steve Irwin was my childhood hero, so I had to fight the urge to pet the beautiful Sheila,” Davis said. “On a serious note, the safety of the beautiful creature and the community came into my mind. I just hope it’s handled safely for all parties involved. As we encroach upon Texas wildlife’s natural habitat we have to be responsible for how we deal with them when we cross their paths in their home. I just hope he’s safe, and our daily lives can carry on safely.”

Alligators mating season in Texas runs from March 1 through May 30. During this time, alligators can be overly aggressive towards other gators, pets and even people.

The best way to observe an alligator is from a safe distance.

Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

HOUSTON, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Venterra Realty broke ground on a new multifamily community, Camber Ridge at Cross Creek Ranch, in Fulshear, TX.

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When fully built out, the property will contain a 312-unit Class A apartment community that is part of Johnson Development Corp's Cross Creek Ranch, a highly successful master-planned community. Camber Ridge will provide residents with market-leading amenities including a community clubroom, resort-style pool, outdoor lounge, fitness center, package lockers, coworking spaces, Sanctuary buildings focused on providing like-minded residents with a peaceful living experience, and more. The first units are expected to be delivered beginning of Q2 2025.

Approximately 30 miles west of downtown Houston, Fulshear is in Fort Bend County and is known as a beautiful and relaxed neighborhood along the banks of the Brazos River. Fulshear is served by highly rated schools in the Katy Independent School District and the Lamar Consolidated School District and offers access to nearby dining, shopping, and entertainment.

The site is conveniently located on Texas Heritage Parkway connected to FM 1093 near SH 99/Grand Parkway, providing quick and easy access to the Katy, Sugar Land, and Richmond/Rosenberg areas. In addition, Houston's major employment centers, including Westchase/Beltway 8, Uptown/Galleria, and Downtown Houston, are all within a 45-minute drive.

"Fulshear is an exceptional investment opportunity due to its strategic location, flourishing economy, and strong prospective renter base", stated John Foresi, CEO of Venterra Realty. "As a Houston-based company, we are thrilled to expand our footprint into the rapidly growing area of Fulshear and develop an exceptional community that caters to the needs and desires of residents. With its easy access to major transportation hubs, thriving economy, and attractive living environment, Fulshear is the perfect market for Venterra Realty to present a community that offers an abundance of attractive amenities and innovative technologies."

"Our newest development will welcome residents to a community that is well-appointed, convenient to nearby attractions and to major employment corridors in Katy and west Houston," added Venterra Chairman Andrew Stewart. "This development is an exceptional addition to our portfolio, as we bring our innovation and high quality of construction to the Cross Creek Ranch community. We are confident this new development will create an unsurpassed living experience for our residents."

From site selection to completion, Venterra has enlisted industry-leading partners to ensure a first-class level of execution. Finalizing the site acquisition, Venterra worked with Marc Kasner from Wilson Cribbs + Goren, who represented Venterra on the transaction and Greg Pettigrew from Fifth Third Bank for construction financing. The architect for the development is Steinberg Dickey Collaborative. In addition, Domain Builders was chosen as the general contractor.

Venterra Realty completed another development, Highpark Apartments in November 2022 in Cypress, TX. The 336-unit community features an upscale living experience with convenient access to SH 99/Grand Parkway. Highpark offers a resort-style pool and outdoor lounge, two dog parks, a fitness center, covered parking spaces, and an 8,600-square-foot clubhouse with workspaces and conference rooms.

Venterra Realty currently owns and operates over twenty communities in the Greater Houston area.

About Venterra:

Founded in 2001, Venterra Realty owns and manages approximately 85+ communities and more than 25,000 apartment units across 19 major US cities that provide housing to over 45,000 people and 15,000 pets. The organization has completed approximately $9.0 billion in real estate transactions and currently manages a portfolio of multi-family real estate assets valued at over $5.0 billion. Venterra is committed to improving the lives of its residents by delivering industry-leading customer experience. Find out more about Venterra Realty and its award-winning company culture at Venterra.com.

Contact: Allie Lewnes, Communications Manager & Brand Specialist; [email protected]

SOURCE Venterra Realty

Located west of Houston, the once small town of Fulshear has transformed into a bustling community, emerging as one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's population skyrocketed from 1,134 in 2010 to 16,856 in 2020, and as of July 2022, it surpassed 34,000 residents.

To accommodate growth, the city council is working to redraw the boundaries of its five districts. According to the Houston Chronicle, District 1, which contains most of the city’s current and future development, is on track to be significantly more populated than the other districts. In turn, the council hopes to begin the process to better align with the 2030 U.S. Census Bureau Report.

Meanwhile, the city has also undertaken initiatives to improve its infrastructure, supporting projects such as the expansion of FM 1093, which will later connect residents to the energy corridor, the Texas Medical Center and other areas of Houston, according to Fulshear Assistant City Manager Zach Goodlander. Additionally, work is underway to enhance walkability in Fulshear’s downtown district, including the addition of pedestrian sidewalks and the reconstruction of its main streets to alleviate traffic.

Fulshear’s rapid population growth has also sparked a surge in residential development, making it one of the most highly sought-after communities in the region. According to the Houston Association of Realtors’ Hottest Communities in the Houston Area report, the Fulshear area had the greatest percentage increase of home purchases in the fourth quarter of 2023, with transactions jumping 103.6 percent year-over-year.

The city currently boasts a vast portfolio of master-planned communities and will soon add another one to its list with Cross Creek West. When complete, the 1,258-acre community will accommodate more than 3,000 homes. While home sales have already begun, the community’s upscale recreation complex and pool are expected to open this year.

“Fulshear is a popular and growing area that has excellent schools, abundant shopping and great access, thanks to the Westpark Tollway and Texas Heritage Parkway that opened,” said Rob Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cross Creek West, in a statement.

As new developments breathe life into Fulshear, the city is concurrently working to enrich the quality of life of its residents. Last year, the city opened the Fulshear Branch Library, a $13.4 million upgrade offering a larger space compared to its predecessor, along with added amenities such as an outdoor patio, study rooms and a state-of-the-art computer lab.

Additionally, construction is expected to commence this summer on Eagle Landing Park, Fulshear’s newest green space which will feature soccer fields, a playground and a walking trail and Fulshear Central, a 125,000-square-foot mixed-use center that will feature a 100-room hotel, office condos, retail, walking trails and green space for community events and gatherings.

"[In Fulshear], you have the best of both worlds," said Don McCoy, President of the Fulshear-Katy Area Chamber of Commerce in a statement. "We have an old downtown district, but we also have a commercial district. There's something for everyone."

Discover more about the ongoing growth in Fort Bend County.

A variety of residential and commercial projects are making progress in the Fulshear area as the affluent, largely residential city moves to further develop its downtown area.

A developing city in northwest Fort Bend County, Fulshear includes expansive master-planned communities such as Cross Creek Ranch in its city limits, with more in its extraterritorial jurisdiction—the unincorporated area outside of city limits.

Fulshear historically has relied on building permits and property taxes for its revenue, Assistant City Manager Zach Goodlander said. However, he said the city’s general fund has seen increasing sales tax revenue as further commercial projects are coming to the area. Sales tax revenue has increased by 60% over the past five years, according to budget documents.

“We’re getting a lot of ... nationally known tenants occupying [FM 1463],” Goodlander said. “That corridor is largely getting built out. And we’re slowly but surely starting to see a lot of the commercial interest move west into our downtown area.”

The downtown area is seeing new major residential developments alongside plans for a mixed-use project called the Fulshear Marketplace. The project is in a preleasing phase for retail, restaurant and office spaces, according to project documents. Additionally, another commercial development from company ICO Commercial in the downtown district is now leasing.

A new H-E-B is expected to come in the future on the opposite side of FM 1093 from the downtown area and act as a future “anchor” to the nearby Fulshear Marketplace. Goodlander said a timeline has not been shared yet.

Breaking it down

In terms of residential development, Fulshear is seeing a variety of projects in the downtown area from longtime west Houston homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes.

Tri Pointe has been building homes in the west Houston area for about 40 years, including homes in major communities such as Grand Lakes in the Katy area and Cross Creek Ranch, Marketing Manager Karyn Goertz said.

“In Fulshear alone, since 2008, we’ve sold and closed over 1,200 homes in Cross Creek Ranch,” Goertz said.

Cross Creek Ranch was sold to Johnson Development in 2012, and much of the master-planned community is outside of the city’s purview but inside its ETJ.

The company’s newest community, Pecan Ridge, opened in February 2023 and offers homesites that have a width of 45-60 feet. The upcoming Estates at James Lane residential development comes with 1-acre homesites.

What else?

As several jurisdictions across the Houston region entered into water conservation notices this summer due to extreme drought conditions, some parts of downtown Fulshear saw challenges with maintaining water pressure as the city grappled with high demand, Goodlander said.

While the city does provide water for many of its residents, not all parts receive water from the city, including acreage communities in the south and communities such as Jordan Ranch, despite having a municipal utility district called Fulshear MUD 3A.

On Oct. 17, City Council awarded a $7.6 million contract to expand the downtown water plant to add additional ground storage capacity and booster pumps to help maintain pressure in the system. Council also approved a $4.2 million expansion for the water plant in Pecan Ridge. Both projects are expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2025.

What to expect

The highest concentration of in-progress commercial development is occurring in the more built-out areas of the city, such as the FM 1463 corridor by the Fulshear Bend H-E-B.

Cheba Hut, Piada, First Watch, Houston Methodist, Jack in the Box, Five Guys and Coldstone Creamery are all slated to open in the FM 1463 area in the coming months, Goodlander said.

Goodlander said he hopes the city’s downtown projects can “keep up” and preserve the city’s unique character.

“I think our residents expect a lot of the city, a lot of the developers, ... rightfully so. I’m a resident, too, so I would expect nothing less,” he said.

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Elected officials in a fast-growing suburb southwest of Houston are considering a moratorium on new development as the community grapples with water supply issues exacerbated by a prolonged summer heat wave.

Residents of Fulshear have been under voluntary water usage restrictions since July, and in August the city issued a 30-hour-long boil water notice because of a sharp decline in water pressure at one of its plants. An online petition has been circulating since late July that asks the city to stop approving new building construction permits until the water-related issues are resolved.

Members of the Fulshear City Council are planning to discuss a possible 120-day moratorium on new property development during the closed executive session at Tuesday night's meeting, after which they could take action, according to the posted agenda for the 5:30 p.m. meeting at the City of Fulshear Municipal Complex, 6611 W. Cross Creek Bend Ln.

Mayor Aaron Groff said the moratorium is being considered because of multiple issues related to recently accelerating growth, including the water problems.

"It's going to come down to some council decisions," said Groff, adding that the city's legal authority to issue a moratorium under Texas' Local Government Code will be discussed during executive session. "We all have concerns around the consequences of development and our responsibility within that."

The population of Fulshear, a town of about 35,000 residents in Fort Bend County, more than doubled from April 2020 to July 2022, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The city utilizes two water systems with a total of seven wells that supply water to nearly 8,500 homes and businesses, according to a presentation made to the city council during a special meeting in August.

The presentation also showed that, based on already-planned development, Fulshear plans to add two new water plants and more than double its supply capacity by 2026. Its current supply capacity of 3.7 million gallons per day is expected to more than quadruple by 2041, by which point the city expects to have added a fourth water plant.

In the meantime, as an exceedingly hot and dry summer in the Houston area nears as end, Fulshear residents want the city to take more immediate action. Residents have complained of low water pressure for about the last six weeks as well as discoloration and the odor of sulfur in the water supply, according to Groff.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requires a boil water notice to be issued if system pressure drops below 20 pounds per square inch, which was the case in August. Groff said the pressure problem is isolated to the city's downtown plant and the residents it serves in the western part of the community, particularly during peak usage hours in the early morning and evening.

"This is a public safety, health and quality of life issue," reads the petition on change.org, which was started by Fulshear resident Randy Connor and had 725 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. "It could also affect the value of your property as who would want to move here if this issue is unresolved?"

Water demand in Fulshear surpassed 50 percent of the city's capacity during the early part of the summer and had climbed to more than 60 percent by August, according to the aforementioned presentation made to the city council, which showed average residential water usage was 12,000 gallons per month at that time and some residents were using upwards of 40,000 gallons. The water system also has been impacted by electricity problems and out-of-service plants because of repairs.

In addition to an under-construction water plant and another that is in the bidding process, the city also plans to install a pair of new 16-inch water lines within the next two years.

For now, Groff said city staff and council members "understand the gravity of this issue" and are trying to resolve the water problems as quickly as possible. He asked residents for patience and to do what they can to limit their water usage.

"It's probably the No. 1 issue in the city right now," he said. "That's why we're committing lots of man hours to it. Not only that, but we are looking to actually move up some of those projects in the pipeline so they're completed even sooner than we were projecting (in late May). So we're trying to fast track what we can, so that come next summer, we don't want to have a repeat."