MARVEL, TX— Dallas-based Hillwood Communities is coming to the Bayou City. The development company along with McGuyer Homebuilders Inc. will begin its first Houston-area master-planned community, Pomona, in April.

Pomona, a 1,000-acre, $700 million, development, will be located in Manvel, Texas along the Highway 288 corridor south of downtown Houston and Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland.

Design for the new community highlights the Mustang Bayou with more than 300 acres of the property to remain wetlands and protective waters and plans to improve the bayou with native grasses and trees.

"We've fully embraced the bayou and the City of Manvel has been terrific to work with on creating genuine coastal features in the architecture and throughout the community," said Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities.  

The initial phase will include 300 homes by Houston builders Highland Homes, David Weekley Homes, Coventry Homes, Plantation Homes and Trendmaker Homes. The entire project will include 2,100 single family homes.

Builder demand for lots in the Houston is robust and Hillwood tells GlobeSt they had to turn some builders away for the first phase.  Although still healthy, Balda anticipates a leveling off in lot pricing as well as home prices.

"Supply for lots is very very tight in the marketplace and therefore prices are going up accordingly," noted Balda. "In the last three years we've seen double digit increases in lot prices and home prices, but that can't continue."

The announcement of Pomona comes just one week after Hillwood announced Union Park, a 787-acre master-planned community located along the U.S. Highway 380 corridor in North Dallas, which will also break ground this spring.