Ashton Gray’s first master-planned community taking shape near Waller

Sugar Land-based Ashton Gray Development has started building its first master-planned community.

Oakwood Estates is a single-family home community at Knebel and Field Store roads north of the city of Waller in Harris County. The entire master-planned community spans 183 acres, including 12 acres set aside for commercial development.

Lot development is underway, and two of the builders have started building their model homes, said Mark Janik, vice president of land for Ashton Gray.

The developer has secured four national homebuilders for the 563 available lots: David Weekley Homes, Ashton Woods Homes, Gehan Homes and K. Hovnanian Homes.

The one- and two-story homes will range from 1,800 to 3,000 square feet and sit on 55- and 60-foot lots. Pricing will range from the $250,000s to the $400,000s, Janik said. He expects first closings this June.

The community also includes a 28.5-acre lake with a mile-long trail around it and a 1.4-acre park with a recreation center, resort-style pool and children’s playground.

Bruno Land Design is the landscape architect, LJA Engineering is the engineer, and Meta Planning + Design is the land planner for Oakwood Estates.

Ashton Gray acquired the land in May 2021 and started moving dirt early last year, Janik said. Water and sewer service is provided by a municipal utility district, Harris County MUD No. 554.

The 5-year-old company likes to develop in or near small towns, Janik said.

“Ever since Covid started, people want to live in small towns,” he said. “We were attracted to the (Waller) area because it’s miles from (U.S. Highway) 290 – that’s the major corridor. We’re just a few miles from (State Highway) 99.”

The community is just around the corner from Waller High School and Schulz Junior High School.

Waller and the 290 corridor northwest of the Grand Parkway are seeing increased residential and commercial development.

Developments along Highway 290 include Houston-based Wolff Cos.’ 587-acre master-planned, mixed-use community Beacon Hill, which includes a 270-acre residential community by Long Lake Ltd.

A little farther down the highway is a 4.3 million-square-foot Daikin manufacturing and distribution facility, which reportedly employs 4,000.

“There’s a lot of employment coming out there,” Janik said. “There’s a lot of industries, a lot of warehousing up and down that 290. It’s a busy corridor.”

Two other industrial projects in the area are a 1.3 million-square-foot facility by Houston-based The Avera Cos. and a 500,000-square-foot distribution center by Houston-based Pagewood, and more land is under contract with different developers, as the Houston Business Journal has previously reported.

In addition to Oakwood Estates, Ashton Gray is planning Ashland, a 900-acre master-planned community in Angleton in Brazoria County, which still needs city approval. Other residential communities currently under development include the 61-acre Stonebrooke in Conroe and the 69-acre The Landing in New Caney.

Outside of Greater Houston, the company has a dozen developments in the works in the Austin area, Janik said.