Michael Smith

Smith oversees one of Houston’s most distinctive residential pipelines, built around the firm’s signature “agrihood” concept.

The template is Harvest Green, a community anchored by a 12-acre working farm. Residents can join a farm club, harvest produce or opt for garden-ready backyards — a pitch that has resonated even as the housing market cooled. While many Texas builders hit the brakes in 2022, Smith put his foot on the pedal, releasing more than 1,660 homesites across six South Texas communities and advancing a 3,000-home development in the Fulshear–Katy corridor.

Smith has also pushed Johnson Development beyond residential sprawl. The firm is redeveloping the former Halliburton campus into a 70-acre mixed-use project, and it secured approval from the Houston City Council in 2024 to designate the 70-acre project as an official “walkable place,” unlocking higher density in exchange for pedestrian-friendly design.

Johnson Development is active in North Texas with the development of Cole Ranch in Denton. The 3,100-acre project just south of the Denton Enterprise Airport is set to include 4,365 single-family homes, with sales scheduled to begin in 2027. The project was conceived over 10 years ago and has passed hurdles in the Denton City Council and the Texas Legislature to proceed. The family that sold the ranch land gave preference to companies that would honor the history of the area; Johnson Development plans to preserve about 1,200 acres as green space.

— Isaiah Mitchell