Wolff Companies Gets TxDOT’s OK for U.S. 290 Access Point for 521-Acre Master-Planned Community in Waller

 

By JEFF JEFFREY, Houston Business Journal

Houston-based Wolff Companies is officially moving forward on a 521-acre master-planned community that the company says will be an economic driver to the greater Waller area.

Wolff Companies President and Chairman David Wolff hosted an Oct. 27 press conference to announce that the company has received approval from the Texas Department of Transportation to build a new exit off U.S. 290, as well as other improvements to the highway, to provide direct access to the company’s planned Beacon Hill community.

Beacon Hill will be located right off U.S. 290 and FM 362, around 40 miles northwest of Houston.

Under the agreement with TxDOT, the new access point will include:

• an off-ramp for a new 290 interchange, named Beacon Hill Boulevard, located west of FM 362;
• a mile-long U.S. 290 frontage road, connecting Beacon Hill Boulevard to James R. Muse Parkway;
• an auxiliary lane from the entrance ramp from FM 362 to the Beacon Hill exit; and
• a U-turn under U.S. 290 at James R. Muse Parkway, to aid traffic flow from Beacon Hill toward Houston.

Wolff said the agreement with TxDOT came together with support from the city of Waller, Waller County and State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-District 18.

“We are proud of the quality of development we have provided over the past 50 years,” Wolff said. “We think the people of Waller, Waller County and greater Houston will be proud of this community, Beacon Hill, for the next 50 years.”

The new access point for Beacon Hill will be funded through a public-private partnership between Wolff Companies, TxDOT and the Beacon Hill Municipal Utility District (Waller County MUD #33), with Wolff Companies providing the majority of the capital as well as the right-of-way for the project.

Beacon Hill Boulevard is expected to be completed in September 2021, while construction on the interchange is expected to start in spring 2022 and be completed in 2023.

“The availability of large tracts of land, the quality of the local school district, crucial access to utilities and improved mobility have placed Waller County in the path of growth, not unlike the opportunity we saw years ago along I-10 in the Energy Corridor,” Wolff said, referencing the company’s 550-acre Park 10 Regional Business Center master-planned development in west Houston. “We expect the pace of development in the area will increase steadily now that U.S. 290 construction is complete and as we introduce new commercial sites in Beacon Hill.”

Wolff also announced that his company recently sold 270 acres in Beacon Hill to Houston-based Long Lake Ltd., a single-family home developer that he said plans to build around 1,000 homes on the land. Homes are expected to cost between $190,000 and $280,000.

Most of the development is shovel ready for developers to begin construction of the retail, office and light industrial-manufacturing aspects of the development, which will be set aside in a business park within Beacon Hill. The development has already been connected with Waller’s water and sewage systems, and power lines have been installed. Work to connect the development to local natural gas systems is nearly complete.

Wolff said his company has already spent $8 million to improve the site in addition to the price it paid to acquire the land.

Wolff Companies purchased the property in 2018 from the Schild family for between $15 million and $20 million.

Given that utilities are not an obstacle at this stage of the development, Wolff said he anticipates interest from employers looking to move into the commercial portion of Beacon Hill because their employees could live close by. The Beacon Hill plans also designate additional flex space that is large enough for a 1 million-square-foot distribution center, he added.

One of the key selling points for Beacon Hill that Wolff highlighted during the press conference was the site’s elevation. At nearly 300 feet above sea level, Beacon Hill meets 500-year flood plain standards, as well as new flood-mitigation requirements imposed in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

“We know there is strong demand for light industrial spaces, especially those with utilities already installed and that are out of the flood plain,” Wolff said. “The great thing about a master-planned, multiuse development is that it can account for all kinds of employers if they adhere to strict quality standards. The way you ensure that is to have strict guidelines for architecture, landscaping, setbacks, etc.”

Waller County Judge Carbett “Trey” Duhon praised the project as having the potential to provide economic benefits to the area.

“When I first heard Wolff Companies was coming to Waller, I was excited because I immediately knew the kind of quality they were going to bring to the project,” Duhon said. “They’re all about quality of life, and that’s what Waller is all about, too.”

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https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/10/27/wolff-cos-beacon-hill-waller-us-290-access-point.html