Ashton Gray eyes 560-home master plan

Ashton Gray Development started its first master-planned community in the Greater Houston area.

Dubbed Oakwood Estates, it is a 183-acre single-family home development with 563 lots, including 12 acres for commercial use, the Houston Business Journal reported. The master-planned community will be located at Knebel and Field Store roads north of Waller, with one- and two-story homes ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 square feet. The project is expected to offer homes starting at $250,000 up to the $400,000 range, or about $139 per square foot.

The community will feature a 28-acre lake with a mile-long trail and a 1.4-acre park that includes a recreation center, resort-style pool and children’s playground. Landscape architecture firm Bruno Land Design will helm the design of the community while Meta Planning + Design will lead the land planning operations.

The Sugar Land-based Ashton Gray purchased the land in May 2021 and signed national homebuilders to begin construction on the community early last year. David Weekley Homes, Ashton Woods Homes, Gehan Homes and K. Hovnanian Homes have already begun constructing model homes with lot developments also in progress. Initial home sales are expected to close in Oakwood Estates this summer.

The company chose Waller due to its location a few miles from highways 290 and 99 as well as the township’s manufacturing and industrial job market, Mark Janik of Ashton Gray told the Houston Business Journal.

Waller and the larger Northwest Houston submarket represent the metro’s largest industrial market, comprising 28 percent of total industrial space in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to real estate research firm Avison Young. Many industrial projects are underway in the submarket. Houston-based development company Parkside Capital has set its eyes on the small industrial town, bringing 2.5 million square feet of warehouse space to the area, while Avera Companies and Pagewood are bringing a combined 1.8 million square feet of additional industrial space.  

To meet the growing economic demand, Gamal Enterprises announced its own master-planned community in the sought-after county. At full buildout, the so-far-unnamed community will bring 2,500 single-family homes on a 245 tract on the northwest side of FM 352 and Morrison Road.

In addition to Oakwood Estates, Ashton Gray is also developing the 900-acre Ashland, a master-planned community in Angleton, in Brazoria County, which requires city approval. The company is also constructing Stonebrooke, a 61-acre residential community in Conroe, and the Landing, a 69-acre community in New Caney.

—Brandon Sams