Al Brende, the cofounder and chief executive of master-planned community developer Land Tejas, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 80, the company announced today.
Brende was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and got his start as a homebuilder in California and as a land developer in Nevada, according to his obituary. He relocated to Houston in the 1990s and co-founded Land Tejas with partner Courtney Grover in 1997. In 28 years, Land Tejas has developed 15,000 acres of land and more than 20 communities in Houston.
The company is credited with introducing gates with guards to communities with entry-level homes. Land Tejas communities were also early adopters of low-voltage wiring, fiber internet and community-wide solar programming. It’s Balmoral community was the first in Houston with a Crystal Lagoon amenity.
Land Tejas’ Sunterra community in the Houston suburb of Katy consistently ranks as one of the top-selling master-planned communities in the country. It ranked fourth in 2023, with 1,325 sales, according to RCLCO Real Estate Consulting. Land Tejas started construction on the 2,300-acre Sunterra in 2020, and it’s expected to feature 7,000 homes at full build-out,
Starwood Land acquired a majority stake in Land Tejas in 2021, buying up a 10-project, 16,000-lot portfolio from the company for $425 million
Starwood started developing Sunterra Lakes, a 1,500-acre sister community to Sunterra, earlier this year. The community will have 4,000 homes at build-out and an elementary school in the Royal Independent School District.
Starwood Land CEO Mike Moser called Brende “a true industry icon” in noting his passing.
“His passion, his hobbies and his life were land development,” Moser said.
Brende is survived by his wife Ann Bayless, three children and five grandchildren. His son Alan and Land Tejas’ longtime CFO Melanie Ohl are expected to take over leadership of Land Tejas.