LookingToMove Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Can any area long-time residents or Sugar Land area experts tell me about this specific area - the southern half of FM 1464? Subdivisions would be Orchard Lakes, Old Orchard, Chelsea Harbor, Shiloh Lake Estates, the subdivisions near Austin High and Garcia Middle, and now Aliana. These are all zoned to Austin High School (which I understand to be a good school). Then you've got Nick's Italian Restaurant, Texas Safari Ranch, Houstonian and Shadow Hawk golf courses, and not much else from what I can see. I've heard a developer bought the open farm land on the west side of the road across from the gas station, and was supposed to be developing a subdivision of single family homes with little lakes, similar to nearby developments. Not sure what's going on with that. What about the prisons in the area? I know the one in Sugar Land off Hwy 90 is supposed to be relocating so that the airport can expand, but what about the one on the west side of the Grand Pkwy in Richmond? What about New Territory and Telfair directly to the south; will the establishment of a new high school in Telfair cause a bunch of rezoning of the New Territory students out of Austin High? How do you see this impacting Austin High? I noticed Perry Homes has some very nice, large homes in Old Orchard... in Telfair the same exact home models are going for nearly $100k more! Seems extreme to me, as these areas are only a few minutes from each other. One concern I have is these subdivisions on FM 1464 are not in Sugar Land or Richmond city limits; in fact, though they have Sugar Land / Richmond postal addresses (depending on what side of the road they're on) they are all technically in Houston ETJ when looking at a map. How might this affect things - is it anything to be really concerned about? I would imagine Sugar Land or Richmond would want someplace like Aliana in their city limits to get the taxes, but as of now only Houston would be able to annex it unless there was an ETJ swap like what happened with Katy Mills Mall. How do you see this area 10-15 years from now? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm not looking for the "creme of the creme" area so to say; just something family-friendly, with good schools, relatively affluent, convenient, and easy on the eye (meaning not a bunch of billboards and unattractive surroundings as in parts of Houston). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Can any area long-time residents or Sugar Land area experts tell me about this specific area - the southern half of FM 1464?Subdivisions would be Orchard Lakes, Old Orchard, Chelsea Harbor, Shiloh Lake Estates, the subdivisions near Austin High and Garcia Middle, and now Aliana. These are all zoned to Austin High School (which I understand to be a good school). I've lived in Orchard Lakes since 2003, so I'll give it a try ...Then you've got Nick's Italian Restaurant, Texas Safari Ranch, Houstonian and Shadow Hawk golf courses, and not much else from what I can see.Development is slowly picking up. There's supposed to be some retail built at the corner of 1464 and Old Richmond, including a 9er's Grill, and Aliana is supposed to have some huge retail development, including a giant H-E-BI've heard a developer bought the open farm land on the west side of the road across from the gas station, and was supposed to be developing a subdivision of single family homes with little lakes, similar to nearby developments. Not sure what's going on with that. That's what I heard too. Still waiting for them to break ground.What about the prisons in the area? I know the one in Sugar Land off Hwy 90 is supposed to be relocating so that the airport can expand, but what about the one on the west side of the Grand Pkwy in Richmond?That one's not going anywhere, but I sure wish they'd remove their entrance from 1464. Doesn't make any sense to have the entrance so far from the unit, especially when they've sold off all the farmland that surrounds it.What about New Territory and Telfair directly to the south; will the establishment of a new high school in Telfair cause a bunch of rezoning of the New Territory students out of Austin High? How do you see this impacting Austin High?I fully anticipate that New Territory kids will be rezoned to Telfair when that high school is built. Not sure what kind of impact that would have on Austin, but with all the high-end development going on around the school, I don't think it would be a negative. It should be noted that New Territory is currently zoned to two different high schools. The side east of 99 goes to Austin, and the west side goes to Travis.I noticed Perry Homes has some very nice, large homes in Old Orchard... in Telfair the same exact home models are going for nearly $100k more! Seems extreme to me, as these areas are only a few minutes from each other. Best I can tell, Telfair is priced based on its proximity to major transportation corridors (U.S. 59, Hwy. 6, U.S. 90A). Yes, we're only a few minutes from Telfair, but it can still take 15 minutes to get to the Southwest Freeway.One concern I have is these subdivisions on FM 1464 are not in Sugar Land or Richmond city limits; in fact, though they have Sugar Land / Richmond postal addresses (depending on what side of the road they're on) they are all technically in Houston ETJ when looking at a map. How might this affect things - is it anything to be really concerned about? I would imagine Sugar Land or Richmond would want someplace like Aliana in their city limits to get the taxes, but as of now only Houston would be able to annex it unless there was an ETJ swap like what happened with Katy Mills Mall.Yes, we're in Houston's ETJ. I'm praying for the swap.How do you see this area 10-15 years from now?Good question. If I lived in Chelsea Harbour I would be extremely concerned about the giant apartment complex going up next door. Drove through there the other day and was amazed to see the houses facing the complex ... seriously, it's practically in their front yards! As I mentioned in another thread, we love Orchard Lakes. Our HOA fees are ridiculous (the price you pay for a small neighborhood with private streets), but we have great neighbors and oak trees everywhere. Should be an amazing sight in 10-15 years ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 If your looking for a great neighborhood in Sugar Land with great schools, I'll have my house in Sugar Mill on the market within the next month. Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LookingToMove Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 Thanks JRC, very helpful.Lunatic, thanks but at this point we are looking for newer construction, and everything else we've seen in our price range (under $350k) in older subdivisions around Sugar Land and a few areas of west Houston we were looking has needed too much updating and TLC. Been there, done that, don't want to do that again at this point in our lives. In this area FM 1464, Riverstone, Telfair and Sienna are where it's at with new construction now. Sienna and Riverstone are too out of the way for us, Telfair has the double-whammy of being overpriced plus having high taxes, so we're looking at the places along FM 1464. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 That's pretty much why we chose Orchard Lakes ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamo Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I live in Long Meadow Farms and am looking to sell my 5 bdrm 3-1/2 bath, 3500 s.f., 2 story and built in 2007. Any interest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eduag Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I also live in Orchard Lakes and love it... Will agree with everything JRC said!Aliana will be really nice, If you looking for brand new construction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamo Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Does anyone know what will come of Madden Road once West Bellfort is complete to Harlem/99. I "heard" it may be closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK123 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Does anyone know what will come of Madden Road once West Bellfort is complete to Harlem/99. I "heard" it may be closed.I don't know, but I just drove down it today and didn't see any indication of it being closed anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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