Hines to Develop 46-Acre Planned Community Inside Houston’s 610 Loop

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Hines has acquired a 46-acre tract of land inside Houston’s 610 Loop at Interstate 10 that it will use to develop Somerset Green, a high-end planned community with detached townhome sites, water features and green spaces.

“It will be a one-of-a-kind highly amenitized master-planned community in the heart of the 610 Loop,” Rob Witte, Hines’ senior managing director, told Commercial Property Executive. “It’s located five minutes from two of Houston’s largest employment hubs (CBD & Uptown) and a mile and a half from Memorial Park.”

The planned development will be located on Old Katy Road behind Star Motor Cars, the Aston Martin dealership and next to The Houston Design Center.

“Buyers are tired of long commutes and want to take advantage of city life,” Witte said. “This will offer quality in that environment.”

Somerset Green will contain three- and four-story single-family townhomes that will be gated and guarded 24/7. Hines will master plan the site, design and build all of the infrastructure, and sell the lots to builders for both spec and custom homes.

Amenities at Somerset Green will include a club house, resort-style pool and a walkable canal and lake. The community as a whole will be fashioned after the Regency style of architecture and the development will contain pocket parks, dog parks, and an amenity area/gathering spot.

Coventry Homes, Pelican Builders and Toll Brothers have committed to develop a significant portion of the project in the European-style neighborhood.

Hines has already developed a number of high-profile master-planned communities including First Colony in Sugar Land, Texas, Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, Palencia in St. Augustine, Florida, Cool Springs in Franklin, Tenn., Aspen Highlands and Five Trees both in Aspen, Col., Pokrovsky Hills in Moscow and Mala Sarka in Prague.

According to Witte, the international firm is looking forward to bringing its expertise to Somerset Green and is expected to create a new property tax base of up to $300 million for the City of Houston.

To date, Hines manages 378 properties totaling 151.9 million square feet, which includes 84.3 million square feet for third parties.