Trail-friendly subdivision to open in 2016

Royal Brook will feature 500 acres at the intersection of Mills Branch and parkway

Royal Brook, a new subdivision comprising more than 500 acres, is expected to open at the intersection of Mills Branch and West Lake Houston Parkway in Kingwood in the spring of 2016.

An underground tunnel and an array of walking trails are among the key features of the master-planned community.

The subdivision is a project by Friendswood Development Co., a developer with 32 active communities across Greater Houston.

“We opened Kingwood proper in 1972 and then built on over 15,000 acres of land,” said Michael Johnson, senior acquisitions manager. “This will be the first new neighborhood in Kingwood for quite a while, so there should be a pent up demand for new homes in the area.”

Crews are installing of all the horizontal infrastructure, including the underground water and sewer distribution lines as well as the roads that run throughout the community.

A mile and a half stretch of road improvements are planned for the north end of West Lake Houston Parkway.

The road will soon extend to

Mills Branch road in Kingwood to allow for easy access to the community.

“We’re under construction now on Phase One. We should deliver finished lots here in the next 60 days at which time homebuilding vertical construction will begin,” Johnson said.

There are 1,107 proposed home sites to be developed on the property, which is located in an area that encompasses both Kingwood and Montgomery County, Johnson said.

Johnson said the company has had longstanding success in Kingwood and feels the community offers great schools and neighborhoods as well as access to employment centers and local amenities.

The property purchased for Royal Brook is the last bit of vacant land within the city of Houston in the Humble Independent School District, Johnson said.

Initially, Friendswood Development Co. purchased 300 acres of property in Kingwood for Royal Brook, with the intention of building 700 homes.

However in June, the company purchased an additional 200 acres of land in Montgomery County to accommodate 400 more single-family lots, Johnson said.

Johnson said the recently purchased land will be used to build patio homes, targeted toward individuals of retirement age.

Residents living south of the Montgomery County line will attend the schools within the Humble school district.

“The original 300 acres that we purchased was all within the city of Houston. We bought up to the City of Houston boundary line and the county line. Then, the additional acres that we purchased is within Montgomery County and the New Caney ISD schools,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the company is still going through the builder selection and contracting processes.

Phase one will feature lot sizes of 55 feet by 120 feet, 65 feet by 125 feet and 75 feet by 135 feet, Johnson said.

Home sizes for the community will range from 2,200 to 4,500 square feet, Johnson said.

Johnson said that the company intends to emulate the rest of Kingwood in saving the forest as they build.

“A portion of the tract is special in that there was an existing mound of dirt that has since been removed, so a piece of the tract did not have trees, but the majority of it we intend to develop with the same vision that we developed the rest of Kingwood in this being ‘a livable forest,’ ” Johnson said.

The company opened another master-planned community called Tavola in October 2014, a separate 1,500-acre development that was purchased in 2012.

The community is located approximately five miles north of Northpark Drive on the U.S. 59 frontage road and Roman Forest Boulevard.

Johnson said the company advertises prices in Tavola from the 200’s to the 300’s whereas Royal Brook prices will be targeted from the 300’s to the 800’s and up.

As part of the extension of West Lake Houston Parkway, an underground tunnel will be installed so pedestrians do not have to fight oncoming traffic as they cross the street.

Johnson said the tunnel, created where the road bridges over the pedestrian walkway, is estimated to be 5 feet wide by 50 feet long.

The underground tunnel concept is done throughout all of Kingwood and the Kingwood trail system, Johnson said.

Johnson said Kingwood has hundreds of miles of major trails and walking trails and Royal Brook trails will tie into the Kingwood overall trail system.

“Most definitely, the quantity of trails and the length of trails that we have in Kingwood are second to none in the greater Houston area,” Johnson said. “It’s the number one amenity for residents.”

The community will also feature a recreation center with a park, pool and club house expected to open in 2017.

Johnson said the future opening of the Grand Parkway will make the community more accessible.

“The fact that there haven’t been any new home communities of this neighborhood of this quality within Kingwood and with the top-rated Humble ISD schools, we see that there will be a lot of people within older parts of Kingwood that have a 1970’s, 1980’s home that would like to upgrade to a newer home,” Johnson said. “Houston also is getting a lot of relocations from out of state that we would be able to service as well.”

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