Tag Archive for: Townsend Landing

Development Update on 3 Areas in NW Humble

Three areas in northwest Humble are in various stages of development. Parts or all of these areas flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The flooding was deep enough that reportedly one of the developers is not even going to try to raise the area. Instead, he said he will raise the homes 6-7 feet. Let’s hope that’s enough.

The numbers in the satellite image correspond to the groups of photos below. I took all shots on 1/3/23.

#1 will become light industrial. #2 will become single family residential. #3 will become single- and multi-family residential.

Area #1 – Light Industrial

According to a 2016 map by Skymark, the developer, the first area will become light industrial.

A four-lane divided road leads from the NW corner of Townsen Boulevard to Spring Creek on the north. By Skymark Development.
The road abruptly stops before reaching Spring Creek and the Spring Creek Nature Trail.

The unpaved area between Spring Creek and where the road ends is owned by another developer (Pacific Indio) who also owns the land on the far side of the creek.

The Spring Creek Nature Trail cuts through the woods near the creek and follows it north toward I-45.
Reverse angle shot looking SE toward Deerbook Mall shows large cleared area with stormwater detention basin.

Area #2 – Single Family Residential

Contractors are in the process of building roads into an area west of Target and Kohls. Saratoga Homes reportedly plans to build 357 homes and townhomes on this location.

Looking S from over Townsen Blvd. we can see two large stormwater detention basins (lower and upper left)
Same area, but looking east toward Kohls and Target.

The closer shot below shows that not all the roads have been built yet.

Saratoga plans to build elevated homes here.

Area #3 – Single- and Multi-Family Residential

Looking south toward Sam’s with Townsen Blvd West on right, we can see a large stormwater detention pond that already has grass growing. This area will become single- and multi-family residential, some of which will be dedicated to seniors.

Note last of trees in center foreground being cleared and shredded for mulch.
Spillway from detention basin seems to have a detour built into it. The purpose? Likely to slow the water and avoid erosion at the base of the utility poles. The long ditch on the left will drain Areas 2 and 3.

Together, all three areas comprise approximately 260 acres according to this map on the Skymark Development website.

To learn more about the history of these sites, see the posts below. They contain floodplain and wetland maps.

Onward. Into the danger zone!

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/9/23

1959 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Development on Townsend in Humble Almost Finished Clearing

Developers have virtually finished clearing approximately 70 acres on Townsend Blvd. West in Humble. The land is immediately north of Sam’s Club and east of Walmart and Aldine ISD’s Jones Middle School. The image below from Google Earth shows the location of the land and the extent of clearing as of last April. At that time, about a quarter of the property had not been cleared. See red oval.

Trees in red oval are now gone. See pictures below.

The two photos below show the land in the red oval as of 9/24/22.

Looking west at newly cleared area toward Townsend and Aldine ISD’s Jones Middle School.
Looking East toward Costco (upper left) and Deerbrook Mall (upper right).

Two Large Detention Basins Already Built

Since my original post on this property, the developers have also built two large stormwater detention basins that comprise most of the eastern boundary.

Two large detention basins sit between the development to the east and the land that developers will build on.
A second basin lies between the larger one above and the drainage ditch to the north.

The basins are a bit hard to see in photograph above because everything is so monochromatic. But if you look closely, you can see backslope interceptor swales around them and drainpipes that lead down to the bottom of the basins. The purpose: to prevent erosion on the sides of the basins that could accelerate siltation in drainage ditches and reduce their conveyance. Such swales represent a best practice.

Leaving the stand of trees on the left above also represents a best practice. Why? The land slopes toward the trees. Had a heavy rain hit the site before the basins were built, the trees would have intercepted runoff and prevented silt from entering the ditch in the background by the power lines.

Three residential developers appear to own all parcels that comprise this cleared area. They include Hannover Estates, Townsen Landing LLC, and Headway Estates LTD. A three-year-old article in Community Impact quoting Saratoga Homes suggests that 357 single-family homes and townhomes are planned for this location.

Here’s what the site looked like in April 2022.

Near Floodplain

The site is near the commercial center of northeast Harris County. But unfortunately, it’s also near the floodplain of the San Jacinto West Fork and Spring Creek. So flood risk is high. And will be going higher.

From FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Red oval indicates location of development.

Note the dates on the map above. One portion is 2014 and the other 2007. Both predate Harvey and NOAA’s new Atlas 14 rainfall statistics. These floodplains could soon expand and take in portions of the new development.

Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD) has submitted preliminary flood maps to FEMA for review. FEMA could release the preliminary maps as early as next year. Preliminary guidance from HCFCD is that floodplains will likely expand by 50%.

If that happens, these developers could be caught between rising interest rates and widening floodplains. That will squeeze profits. I talked to one developer last week who is choosing to retire now rather than ride out another recession.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/24/22

1852 Days since Hurricane Harvey