Thousands of Acres in East Fork, Luce Bayou Watersheds to be Developed as Part of Kingland

Back in 2015, HHF and Land Advisors advertised 8,673 acres of timberland for sale that bracketed the State Highway 99 extension in Montgomery, Harris and Liberty Counties. They called the property “Kingland” and billed it as one of the largest undeveloped areas left in the Houston area – perfect for a masterplanned community.

Subsequently, CH B-Kingland LLC (the owner) sold 4,394 acres in Liberty County to Colony Ridge in 2016.

Colony Ridge has already started the process of clearing and developing most of their purchase, north and east of the new Grand Parkway (SH99). But ironically, Colony Ridge’s construction practices are sending rivers of mud down the once pristine river and bayous where Kingland could itself soon start developing also.

North of Lake Houston, South of Colony Ridge, Spanning 3 Counties

Here’s a 2017 map of the 4000+ acres remaining in Kingland after the partial sale to Colony Ridge.

*From 2017 sales brochure by HHF and Land Advisors. Map shows remaining parts of Kingland not sold to Colony Ridge, the area to the north.*

Here’s what the property looks like from the air in January.

*From near the San Jacinto East Fork looking east. SH99 bisects property. Photo January 1, 2021*

*Reverse angle. Looking northwest across Kingland from where SH99 turns south. You can see part of Colony Ridge in the upper right.*

Development Usually Follows Concrete

TXDoT says this section of the Grand Parkway should open sometime in the spring or summer of 2022. When it does, you can expect development in this area to accelerate rapidly.

Castle Hill Partners in Austin, the company that owns CH-B Kingland LLC, did not return phone calls re: its development plans. However, since tollway construction is moving from west to east, it would make sense to develop the western portions in Montgomery and Harris Counties before moving east into Liberty County.

Kingland’s 2017 sales brochure shows that almost half of the western section lies in Montgomery County along the San Jacinto East Fork. The remainder of the western section lies within Harris County. Both portions lie partially within the City of Houston’s Extra Territorial Jurisdiction.

*Western section of Kingland shows a 41.3 acre detention pond*, *plus seven smaller ponds. But it’s unclear whether they will lie in the floodway or floodplain.*

FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows the extent of the floodway and floodplains in that area.

*Crosshatched area = floodway. Aqua = 100 year floodplain. Brown = 500 year.*

Wetlands pockmark the entire area, too.

*Source: USGS National Wetlands Inventory.*

I interviewed a family in that small development south of Kingland property that straddles the Harris/Liberty County Line and discovered that they flooded from the East Fork during both Harvey and Imelda. They live more than 1.5 miles from the nearest mapped floodplain. However, that could soon change when the new post-Harvey flood maps are redrawn.

Anyone downstream on the East Fork or Luce needs to keep a close eye on this one. It has the potential to further alter the hydrology of the watershed.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/11/2021

1231 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 480 since Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

North of Lake Houston, South of Colony Ridge, Spanning 3 Counties

Development Usually Follows Concrete

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