Ex-energy executive launches community in northwest Houston
A development team led by retired energy executive Archie
Dunham has broken ground on Dunham
Pointe, a master-planned community that will bring 1,000 homes to northwest Houston beginning this fall.
Dunham Pointe Development announced details for the 1,327-acre community that is taking shape south of U.S. 290 at Mason Road more than a decade after acquiring the land.
“We purchased the land from a family in Taiwan in 2007,” Dunham said. He retired as chairman of ConocoPhillips in 2004 and is the former chairman of Chesapeake Energy.
Dunham knew developing the former farmland would be a long-term project because of challenges associated with building roads over the railroad tracks running parallel to the property. Work is under way to extend Mason Road south of U.S. 290 for the community’s main entrance, and a similar extension of nearby Mueschke Road will follow. Other work to bring utilities and detention to the site began in late 2016, Dunham said.
Coventry Homes, David Weekley Homes, Tri Point Homes and Toll Brothers have contracted to build homes on 50-, 60- and 70-foot wide lots. Prices will start in the $300,000s.
“There’s a tremendous shortage of inventory of both
new and used homes, not just in Houston, but the U.S.,” Dunham said. “So the builders are very aggressively trying to secure positions.”
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated demand for suburban houses, which are often larger and more affordable than those closer in, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Building in suburban counties of large cities grew by 15 percent in 2020, according to the organization’s Home Building Geography Index.
The Dunham community is near Bridgeland, a Howard Hughes Corp. development that recently added a new village that could contain up to 7,000 homes.
In August, work will begin on an amenity center that will include a swimming pool and fitness facilities. More than 300 acres fronting U.S. 290 has been set aside for restaurants, retail, office, medical and apartment developments.
Cy-Fair ISD will build an educational campus on 146 acres with three schools and sports facilities.
Dunham’s first real estate venture, Stone Creek Ranch, a community of 1,225 homes, is about two miles away. It opened in 2016.
When Dunham’s daughter and son-in-law had difficulty finding a site to build a nondenominational church, Dunham and his son Cary found a 525-acre tract at U.S. 290 and Becker Road. The Dunhams donated 60 acres for the Community of Faith Church and decided to develop the rest.
“That’s how we got into the business,” Dunham said. “It’s kept me more busy than I planned to be in retirement.”
More in Magnolia
Audubon Magnolia Development announced the start of home sales in Audubon, a masterplanned community spanning nearly 3,000 acres at Texas 249 tollway and FM 1488.
Anglia Homes and Devon Street Homes are offering homes ranging from 1,500 to 2,700 square feet. The initial homes are being built on 40-foot and 50-foot lots and start in the $220,000s. The community is planned for 4,200 homes upon completion.
Signorelli Co. launched the development of Magnolia Springs, a 665-acre community designed for up to 1,900 homes in the Magnolia area.
The community, which will have 175 acres of open and green space incorporating a wooded creek, is off FM 1486, just north of the future Aggie Expressway, south of Texas 105. Approximately 200 lots will be available to homebuilders later this year in the first phase. The lots will be 40 feet and 50 feet wide.
Following the rooftops
Houston-based Gulf Coast Commercial Group is finalizing plans for the development of Magnolia Village, a 60-acre mixeduse project at FM 1488 and Spur 149 in the Magnolia area.
The first phase, slated for completion in fall 2022, is planned to include retail, office and 300 apartment units on 36 acres. Gulf Coast Commercial is purchasing the property from Houston-based Parkside Capital. The land sale is slated to close on June 30.
Magnolia Village will be across Spur 149 from Magnolia Place, a proposed 120-acre project with retail and residential components by Austin-based Stratus Properties. H-E-B plans to start construction on a grocery store on that site in June.
Houston-based Identity Architects is designing the project, which is expected to break ground this fall.