Hines Bringing Community of 1,400 Homes to Waller, Near Houston

Hines is bringing the boom to a fast-growing Texas town.

The Houston-based developer recently purchased 528 acres in Waller, with plans to develop a master-planned community. The project, another partnership with Trez Capital, Sumitomo Forestry and Caravel Ventures, will bring 1,400 single-family homes to the Northwest Houston exurb, which borders Waller and Harris counties.

The tract is 2 miles north of Highway 290. Bill Byrd of Colliers represented the land seller, whose identity couldn’t be determined.

Construction of the initial phase of 350 homesites is expected to start in December and wrap up by summer 2025. Homebuilders including Chesmar, Brightland Homes, Tri Pointe and Highland Homes are on board.

At full buildout, the community will include a nearly 5-acre recreation center featuring a resort-style pool and a community clubhouse. It will also include a slew of outdoor amenities sprawled across 130 acres of green space.

Waller County’s population grew 9 percent between 2020 and 2022, from 57,000 to 62,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

As the northwest corridor expands, available vacant land is diminishing in the surrounding submarkets, making Waller an attractive destination for real estate development, especially single-family homes. Nearly 70 percent of Waller County homes are owner occupied, compared to 61 percent in Greater Houston and 62 percent statewide.

Waller isn’t the only Greater Houston frontier for Hines.

The prolific developer has a 950-acre tract in Brazoria County’s Iowa Colony, where it is planning another community, Sandy Point, also in collaboration with Trez Capital.

That community is expected to have 2,100 homes and become the firm’s second-largest master-planned community after the 9,700-acre First Colony in Sugar Land.

Hines and Trez Capital, in partnership with Caravel Ventures and Sumitomo Forestry, are also planning the Brookewater master-planned community in Rosenberg and a 1,400-acre master-planned community in Austin, called Mirador, which is set to open near Tesla’s Gigafactory.