Springwoods Village: urban aura in suburbia
Community is close to Exxon Mobil’s campus, City Place
The first two neighborhoods in Springwoods Village could suit both executives and wellheeled millennials looking for an urban vibe in a suburban locale.
Homes in the neighborhoods, which opened two years ago near the Grand Parkway and Interstate 45 North, are priced upward of $400,000. They’re close to CityPlace, an urban district that promises restaurants, shops, offices and apartments, and Exxon Mobil’s new campus.
In Harper Woods, about a third of the planned 88 singlefamily homes and townhomes have been sold so far. Priced between $400,000 and $600,000, the homes have a Southern Coastal flair with breezy colors, wide front porches, upstairs balconies and alleys behind most homes.
“You don’t see many alleyways, especially in the suburbs,” said Brad Depoy, a sales manager at Sullivan Brothers Builders. “It’s just a different product than the norm out here.”
The homes, which range from 1,676 to 2,805 square feet, are designed to provide a “lock and leave” lifestyle. Front and back lawn service is included in the homeowners association dues.
Buyers have ranged from people in their upper 20s to retirees, Depoysaid.
In Audubon Grove, spacious homes by Taylor Morrison are set on 75-foot-wide lots in a wooded corner of the 1,800- acre community. Houses range from about $450,000 to $627,000 and contain from3,190 square feet to nearly 6,000 square feet.
“We’re literally nestled right up next to Exxon,” said Jonathan White, Taylor Morrison Houstondivision president.
Of 52 houses planned in the community, about 10 remain to be sold, White said. He estimates 75 percent of the sales so far have been to Exxon Mobil employees.
The sales pace has slowed in the past year amidlowoil prices and an uncertain job market, White said. He suspects Exxon Mobil employees whore located here from Virginia are renting until they decide whereto buy.
Developed 20 miles north of downtown Houston to house Exxon Mobil’s new campus, Springwoods Village also is home to Southwestern Energy and CHI St. Luke’s Health. A nature preserve connects with the Spring Creek Greenway system of trails.
Harper Woods and Audubon Grove take up 40 acres out of the 500 to 1,000 acres that could ultimately be developed with single-family homes in Springwoods Village, according to developer CDC Houston. One or two additional single-family neighborhoods are expected to openin 2017.