Joseph H. Necker Jr., senior vice president and development director for the Columbia, MD-based Rouse, tells GlobeSt.com that Addicks Services Inc. was awarded the contract with a $4.5-million bid. Work will begin soon on the US Highway 290 and Fry Road acreage, about 25 miles from the Houston CBD. Completion is set for year's end, creating 143 of the 900 acres of lakes in the build-out plan. The excavation project also will include work on the Bridgelands entry parkway and a recreation center site.

Bridgelands' first phase, "The Shores," will include about 600 single-family homes and a four-acre park. Land sales are planned for 2005. The Bridgelands ultimately could have 19,000 single-family homes along with a town center as the focal point for the commercial component. Necker says it will be a mix of retail, office and high-density residential, situated off the to-be-built Grand Parkway. Commercial construction will begin when work wraps up on the parkway, slated for 2008.