Amenity centers have starring role
Community facilities give their suburban residents more lifestyle connections
Developers have unveiled a host of amenity centers in communities across the Houston area recently, incorporating the latest trends in creating spaces that foster connections with the outdoors andthe neighbors.
The community complexes increasingly offer spaces such as lawns for outdoor events, gymswithclasses, restaurants andresort-style pools with cabanas. In many communities, lifestyle managers are onstaff to guide residents through the offerings.
Having the amenities in place when a community opens is key to Rise Communities atitstwo Houston-area-developments. Thefacilities demonstrate lifestyle-focused offerings such as a light-filled conservatory residents can use for events and science-based learning centers in Meridiana.
“For someone to understand it, it has to be built. Youcan’t just promise it,” said DanNaef, president of Rise Communities. Somehighlights:
Meridiana: The60-foot Meridian Towersits at the center of the amenity villagein the Manvel area’s 2,700-acre Meridiana, near Texas 288 south of Texas 6.
Thetower, designed to track the Earth’ s movement in relationship to the sun, is one of several learning labs planned in the community, along with the nearly complete Galileo’s Lab, which will have a weather station andscaled model of the planets. Elyson: NewlandCom- mu ni ties opened E ly son, with plansfor 6,000homes in the north Katy area, with its 9,000-square-foot Rorick House amenities center. The newprairie-style building incorporates materials from old structures onthe former rice farm wherethe 3,642-acre community is going up near the Grand Parkway and FM 529.
Studio Red Architects designed the building, which houses a welcome center, staff offices, lounge areas, a community meeting room, a game room, gym and the Rori ck Kitchen cafe.
Po mona: Hill wood Communities is putting the finishing touches onits 2,900-square-foot Camp Po mona recreation center in Manvel.T he center, which also houses the community’ s offices, has two large pools with cabanas and is designed toconnect with an“exploration zone” playground and event lawn overlooking Mustang Bayou.
About 2,100 homes are planned for the 1,000-acre development at Texas 288 and CountyRoad101.
Harmony. Harmony,a 1,000- acre community near Interstate 45 andthe HardyToll Road in Spring, opened a second recreation center, TheThicket, with a 5,100-square-foot clubhouse, pool, lap pool andsplash padthissummer.
It added two tennis courts and a multi use sport court to its Barefoot Park recreation complexthis month. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser