Large Master-Planned Community in Fort Bend County, Texas
Place in Texas, United States
First Colony
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A First Colony entrance sign
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Country
| United States
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State
| Texas
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County
| Fort Bend County
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Cities
| Sugar Land
and
Missouri City
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Construction started
| 1976
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Development finished
| 1997
[1]
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Founded by
| Sugarland Properties
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? Total
| 9,700 acres (39 km
2
)
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? Total
| 50,000
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? Density
| 3,300/sq mi (1,300/km
2
)
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ZIP Code
| 77479
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First Colony
is a 9,700-acre (39 km
2
)
master-planned community
in
Fort Bend County, Texas
. The community, with approximately 50,000 residents,
[2]
encompasses over 9,500 residential houses in 98
neighborhoods
[3]
[4]
located across southern parts of
Sugar Land
with a few neighborhoods spanning into
Missouri City
.
History
[
edit
]
First Colony was developed by Sugarland Properties Inc.—a joint venture of
Gerald D. Hines
Interests and Stichting Shell Pension Fund. Hines' Sugarland group began development on First Colony in 1976.
[5]
When First Colony was under development in 1977, very little development was in the area. Bill Schadewald said that he, as a rookie real estate reporter, received speculation from local sources questioning whether "a project so large and such a distance could succeed."
[6]
The community was a
census-designated place
in the 1990 census, with a population of 18,327 in 5,976 housing units with a reported area of 9.3 square miles (24 km
2
). At the time, this made First Colony CDP the 108th most populous place in Texas.
Sugar Land gradually annexed most of its portion of First Colony within its municipal boundaries during the early to mid 1990s. For instance, the annexation of
Municipal Utility District
(MUD) 12 in First Colony occurred on December 17, 1991; this included 1,064 acres (4.31 km
2
), including 2,314 homes, 433 condominiums and 350,000 square feet (33,000 m
2
) of commercial property along
Texas Highway 6
.
[7]
The
Sugar Land Town Square
, a development that began in the 2000s, was developed on one of the few remaining parcels of land in First Colony.
[8]
In 2011 Schadewald said "Now: I guess it’s safe to say First Colony has been a success."
[9]
Cityscape
[
edit
]
Several restrictions are placed on the development of commercial businesses. Signs of businesses within First Colony cannot be placed on poles. Exterior aesthetics common to retail businesses (from department store exteriors to restaurants) must have a brick-covered exterior and white lettering. As a result,
fast food restaurants
in First Colony differ in appearance from fast food restaurants in other areas. Steve Ewbank, the executive vice president of Planned Community Developers, the developer of First Colony, said that a brick shopping center in First Colony had a price tag higher by 10 to 20 percent than the price of typical shopping center.
[2]
One community located in First Colony is Sweetwater, described by Ralph Bivins of the
Houston Chronicle
as "upscale".
[10]
In the year 1990, four very expensive houses were sold, altogether worth 1.8 million dollars (4197860.42 in today's money). In the year 1991, until July 7 of that year, 12 houses priced at over $400,000 (894795.99 in today's money) were sold, with a total of $7.1 million (15882628.88 in today's money), three times that of the 1990 total. The most expensive house that was sold in 1991 (until July 7) was a 6,900 square feet (640 m
2
), $1.2 million (2684387.98 in today's money) house that was a replica of
Melrose
. It was in proximity to the Sweetwater Country Club and golf course.
[10]
Government and infrastructure
[
edit
]
The
City of Sugar Land
City Hall is located in
Sugar Land Town Square
in First Colony.
[11]
The
United States Postal Service
operates the First Colony Post Office in
Sugar Land
.
[12]
Economy
[
edit
]
Minute Maid
opened its headquarters in
Sugar Land Town Square
in First Colony on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in
2000 St. James Place
in
Houston
.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Education
[
edit
]
Primary and secondary schools
[
edit
]
First Colony is within the
Fort Bend Independent School District
.
[16]
Elementary schools within First Colony and within Sugar Land include Austin Parkway, Colony Bend, Colony Meadows, Highlands, Lexington Creek, and Settlers Way. Other elementary schools serving sections of First Colony include Dulles Elementary School in Sugar Land, Lakeview Elementary School in Sugar Land, and Quail Valley Elementary School in
Missouri City
.
[17]
Most of First Colony is served by
First Colony Middle School
in First Colony and in
Sugar Land
. Other middle schools serving sections of First Colony include Dulles Middle School in Sugar Land,
Fort Settlement Middle School
in Sugar Land, Quail Valley Middle School in Missouri City, and Sugar Land Middle School in Sugar Land.
[18]
Most of First Colony is served by
Clements High School
in First Colony and in Sugar Land. Other high schools serving sections of First Colony include
Dulles High School
in Sugar Land, in
Elkins High School
in Missouri City, and
Kempner High School
in Sugar Land.
[19]
Quail Valley Elementary, Dulles Junior High, and Dulles High had already been built as First Colony opened. Dulles Elementary was occupied in August 1976. Quail Valley Junior High School was occupied in September 1978. Colony Bend was occupied in August 1981. Clements was occupied in 1983. Dulles Junior High School reopened and was reoccupied during the same year. Settlers Way was occupied in 1984. First Colony Junior High School opened in September 1985. Highlands opened in the fall of 1986. Austin Parkway was occupied in September 1989. Colony Meadows opened in the northern hemisphere fall of 1991. Elkins opened in the northern hemisphere fall of 1992. Lexington Creek opened on August 17, 1994. Lakeview Elementary was dedicated on August 1, 1995. Quail Valley closed around 1994/1995 and reopened on August 14, 1996.
[20]
First Colony Middle was a 1999?2000
National Blue Ribbon School
.
[21]
Elkins was a Blue Ribbon School in 2002.
[22]
Fort Settlement was a 2007 Blue Ribbon School.
[23]
During that year Elementary #39 began to temporarily house Quail Valley Elementary residents as the school was being rebuilt. The rebuilt Quail Valley Elementary opened in August 2008.
[20]
Public libraries
[
edit
]
Fort Bend County Libraries
operates the First Colony Branch Library in Sugar Land. The 19,400 square feet (1,800 m
2
) library, designed by Brooks Association for Architecture and Planning and the second of four branches built with 1989 bond funds, opened in June 1993. The library includes "A Planet Clock," a piece of kinetic art by Jaroslav Belik.
[24]
The
Texas Legislature
designated
Wharton County Junior College
as the college for the city and extraterritorial jurisdiction of Sugar Land, while for the City of Missouri City it designates
Houston Community College
(HCC).
[25]
Parks and recreation
[
edit
]
Parks in First Colony operated by the association include Patriot Park. Playgrounds in First Colony operated by the association include Austin Meadows Playground, Colony Meadows 1 Playground, Colony Meadows 2 Playground, Edgwater Playground, The Enclave Playground, Heritage Colony Playground, Riverbend Playground. Pools include Alcorn Oaks Pool, Austin Park Pool, The Lakes Pool, and Woodstream Pool.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Luck, Marissa (2022-09-16).
"Houston real estate powerhouse Hines plans 2,400-home community in Fort Bend County"
.
Houston Chronicle
. Retrieved
2022-12-04
.
- ^
a
b
Kaplan, David. "
Blending elegance and fast food
."
Houston Chronicle
. May 13, 2010. Retrieved on May 14, 2010.
- ^
CSA, First Colony.
"About Us"
.
First Colony CSA
. Retrieved
2022-11-05
.
- ^
"fccsa_community_neighhborhoods_map.pdf"
.
Google Docs
. Retrieved
2022-12-08
.
- ^
Bivins, Ralph. "
Developer sees more demand for homes priced above $110,000
."
Houston Chronicle
. Sunday December 13, 1987. Business 8. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
- ^
Schadewald, Bill. "Looking back ‘Then and Now’ at 40 years of Houston business."
Houston Business Journal
. Friday December 24, 2010.
2
. Retrieved on September 13, 2011.
- ^
Staff Report. "
News briefs/Area
."
Houston Chronicle
. Thursday December 19, 1991. A37. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
- ^
Bivins, Ralph. "
Sugar Land Town Square developers at jumping-off point in project
."
Houston Chronicle
. Wednesday September 27, 2000. Business 1. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
- ^
Schadewald, Bill. "Looking back ‘Then and Now’ at 40 years of Houston business."
Houston Business Journal
. Friday December 24, 2010.
3
. Retrieved on September 13, 2011.
- ^
a
b
Bivins, Ralph. "
Upscale home construction on rise in Houston area
."
Houston Chronicle
. Sunday July 7, 1991. Business 6. Retrieved on October 13, 2012.
- ^
Hall, Christine. "
Sugar Land Town Square gets a 'heart' with addition of City Hall
."
Houston Business Journal
. Friday April 15, 2005. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
- ^
"
Post Office Location - FIRST COLONY
Archived
2010-05-31 at the
Wayback Machine
."
United States Postal Service
. Retrieved on May 13, 2010.
- ^
Dawson, Jennifer. "
Minute Maid headquarters opens in Sugar Land
".
Houston Business Journal
. Monday February 16, 2009. Retrieved on February 16, 2009.
- ^
"Deal of the Week / Cameron buys Galleria-area building"
.
Houston Chronicle
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-22
. Retrieved
21 December
2008
.
- ^
Dawson, Jennifer. "
Minute Maid gets $2.4M incentive for move to Sugar Land
".
Houston Business Journal
. Monday January 21, 2008. Retrieved on February 16, 2009.
- ^
a
b
"
Interactive Mapping
[
permanent dead link
]
." First Colony Association. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
- ^
"
High Schools
[
permanent dead link
]
."
Fort Bend Independent School District
. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
- ^
"
Middle School Attendance Zones
[
permanent dead link
]
."
Fort Bend Independent School District
. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
- ^
"
High School Attendance Zones
[
permanent dead link
]
."
Fort Bend Independent School District
. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
- ^
a
b
"
FBISD History
Archived
September 7, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
."
Fort Bend Independent School District
. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
- ^
Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982?1983 Through 1999?2002 (PDF)
Archived
March 26, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Blue Ribbon Award
Archived
2006-05-03 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Microsoft Word - 2007-schools.doc
- ^
"
First Colony Branch Library
."
Fort Bend County Libraries
. Retrieved on May 14, 2010.
- ^
Texas Education Code Sec. 130.182. HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. Sec. 130.211. WHARTON COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
External links
[
edit
]
29°34′29″N
95°36′31″W
/
29.57472°N 95.60861°W
/
29.57472; -95.60861
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Areas
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Primary and secondary schools
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Other education
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Landmarks
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Culture
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Areas
| Areas
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Historical communities
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Education
| Primary & secondary
schools
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Colleges and universities
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Libraries
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This list is incomplete.
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