Deal of the Week: Avanti Properties plans Stone Creek Ranch community
Florida-based Avanti Properties Group has purchased 502 acres in Rosenberg for development of a residential community with local partner Ersa Grae Corp.
The project, named Stone Creek Ranch, will consist of about 1,000 units of mostly single-family homes priced from $180,000 to $380,000, said Ali Ebrahimi, president and CEO of Houston-based Ersa Grae Corp.
The land is situated near Berdett Road and Meyers Road and is bisected by Dry Creek, which will be integrated into the community’s design.
“We’ll probably be selling lots in 18 months,” Ebrahimi said. “It’s going to be highly amenitized on both sides of that creek.”
The property was purchased from Rockspring Capital, which was represented by Matthew Herring, James Kadlick and Chris Hutcheson with McAlister Real Estate.
“The suburban single-family land market has been extremely strong over the last year,” said Matthew Herring, whose firm has sold more than 2,000 acres in the Houston area this year. “National homebuilders and developers have been scrambling to lock up positions in Houston so they can secure lots for the next several years.”
In fact, Rosenberg is running out of developed lots as builders have worked through the inventory of lots that were platted before the recession, said Matt Fielder, economic development director for the city of Rosenberg.
“We’re seeing residential really take off,” Fielder said. “We’ve had 893 lots platted in 2013. Before 2013, it’s been some time since we’ve had any platted.”
Builders started 600 homes through November of this year in Rosenberg, up from 400 in all of 2012, Fielder said. The homes have gone up in neighborhoods such as The Reserve at Brazos Town Center, Bonbrook Plantation, Summer Lakes, Oaks of Rosenberg, Sunrise Meadows and Cottonwood. Located along U.S. 59 past Sugar Land, the Fort Bend County town of Rosenberg is home to 34,100 people.
Avanti Properties and Ersa Grae are also working on a yet-to-be named community near Fry Road and U.S. 290, just south of Bridgeland. Construction there is also expected to start in about 18 months.
The developer purchased 1,200 acres for project about seven years ago and plans to sell off 500 acres, Ebrahimi said.
The remainder will be developed with homes, apartments, schools and some commercial property. Builders have not been selected for either project yet.
The partners are also developing Silver Ranch in the Katy area and Fieldstone in the Richmond area. Both of those communities are more than 60 percent built-out, Ebrahimi said.
The Rosenberg project represents Avanti Properties Group’s 14th investment in the Houston area.