Community takes shape in far north Harris County

An evening photo of the Springwoods Village water plant, powered by solar energy panels, that will be used to treat the community's water resources. The development is at the intersection of Interstate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road in north Harris County. less An evening photo of the Springwoods Village water plant, powered by solar energy panels, that will be used to treat the community's water resources. The development is at the intersection of Interstate 45 and ... more Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Community takes shape in far north Harris County 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Surrounding a huge corporate campus under construction for Exxon Mobil, a developer is creating a community it says will be "a true live, work, play environment" that will have jobs, homes and amenities from the day it opens.

By 2015, the development will have some 11,000 people working in the community and 1,000 residents living there, Keith Simon, executive vice president of developer CDC Houston, said Wednesday during a presentation and bus tour of the project.

The company is a subsidiary of Coventry Development of New York, which owns the 1,800-acre Springwoods Village at the intersection of Interstate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road in north Harris County.

The beginnings of a dense, urban-style town center also will be in place.

The center is designed for a full-service hotel, restaurants, shops and offices to be developed around a public plaza and connected to green spaces. It will be near the new Exxon Mobil campus and a second corporate headquarters planned for the area.

Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co. recently purchased 25 acres in Springwoods Village for a 500,000-square-foot office building. The new facility will consolidate more than 1,000 Houston-area employees from several office buildings along the North Belt.

Patrinely Group will be the development manager and Gensler has been hired as the architect and interior designer on the project, slated for a 2014 completion.

The 385-acre Exxon Mobil campus is expected to house 10,000 employees in a series of low-rise buildings and parking garages when it is finished in 2015. Multiple buildings are under construction.

Several housing developments, too, will break ground soon in Springwoods Village.

Martin Fein Interests is building 342 high-end apartments in a complex called The Belvedere. Units will average 950 square feet and $1,500 per month. Construction is expected to start by the end of this year.

In a separate project called Harper Woods, Sullivan Brothers Builders plans to develop 88 single-family houses and townhomes averaging 2,400 square feet.

The homes will have traditional architectural styles, "very Heightsish," said Billy Sullivan, whose firm also builds in the historic Heights neighborhood near downtown. All of the homes will have alley access and large front porches meant to encourage neighbors to interact. Price tags will range from the high $200,000s to the $500,000s.

The third housing project to break ground will contain 51 large single-family homes built by Taylor Morrison in a project called Audubon Grove. Prices on the homes have not been determined.

Sullivan said employees from the companies moving into the area have already inquired about housing.