Blog entries - May 2009

Food, Fun and Music Make a Block Party Celebration Special

Administrator — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Hundreds of Towne Lake residents — and even some folks planning to make Towne Lake their home — celebrated Mother’s Day Weekend at the KSBJ Block Party at Towne Lake on Saturday, May 9.

In addition to lots of great food, refreshments and activities for kids, the block party

featured a KSBJ Special Events performance by contemporary Christian artists Jimmy Needham, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, and Chris and Conrad. And in recognition of Mother’s Day, many residents donated diapers and non-perishable food items that were distributed to families in need by Northwest Assistance Ministries.

"Everyone had a great time at the block party — it was a fun afternoon with family, friends, good music and food,” said Barbara Locke, Towne Lake Sales and Marketing Director. “These events are part of what makes Towne Lake a real community … not just a place to live.”

New section of Towne Lake ready for water

Administrator — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

A new 30-acre section of the major water feature in Towne Lake is ready to be filled, and should be open for boating and other recreational activities by summer.

Phase II of the lake development project stretches from Hamilton Hills Bridge to the future Tuckerton Road Bridge, and connects with the first phase of lake development which was filled last year. When fully completed, the lake will cover more than 300 acres of the Towne Lake community.

Once the new section is filled, it will be stocked with bait
fish and bass sometime in June.

Towne Lake 2009 Milestones

Greg Rivera — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The nation’s economic downturn has not slowed development activity at Caldwell Companies’ 2,400-acre Towne Lake master-planned community off Barker-Cypress and West roads.

Two major milestones have been achieved at Towne Lake in the past two months: the completion of the first 75-acre section of the 300-acre lake that will serve as the heart of the community; and the opening of the first of several bridges that will span the lake and serve as community connectors.

“These are significant milestones when we look at Towne Lake’s big picture,” said Randy Young, Caldwell Companies’ director of operations and land development. “The completion of this first segment of the lake and the Hamilton Hills bridge gives residents and potential buyers a feel for the immense scale of the lake and the development. When we first started working on Towne Lake we were selling a vision of what was to be and were able to utilize images to illustrate that, but now we have a beautiful bridge and magnificent lake that provides a tangible piece of what this great community has to offer and an indication of the quality and scale of what is to come at Towne Lake.”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg - we are very excited about what lies ahead,” Young said.

Caldwell Cos. started work on the 75-acre section of lake about 18 months ago. It boasts about two miles of shoreline, is 10-feet deep and is located between Tuckerton and West roads on the south end of the Towne Lake community.

Peter Barnhart, Caldwell Companies’ vice president of development, said it was an engineering feat to excavate and remove the millions of cubic yards of dirt to achieve the depth and size of the lake, which will one day be the fourth largest in the Houston area.

“Every last bit of dirt has stayed on site,” Barnhart said. “We found very good use for it including creating some interesting terrain on our residential lots.”

Barnhart said Towne Lake was fortunate to receive so much rain in late April. Rainwater from storm events helped to fill the 75-acre section quickly.

Under development around the first section of lake are one-and-a-half miles of trails, and a boat ramp that will be able to serve motorized recreational boats soon. Several homes built on the lake will feature their own private docks. The lake is stocked with bass and perch.

“This truly is a recreational lake,” Barnhart said.

The company is hard at work digging out the second 75-acre section of lake, which will be completed in 2010. When the entire 300-acre lake is finished, there will be 14 miles of shoreline.

The lake is designed to draw Towne Lake residents out of their homes and together.

Spanning the existing lake is a magnificent 41-foot-long bridge on Hamilton Hills Drive. It is the first of 10 bridges and took about nine months to complete.

“The bridge is a milestone – both symbolically and practically – because it joins the north and south sides of the lake together,” Young said.

Towne Lake’s bridges will all be unique, but will carry a common “Hill Country” theme.

“The lake is the centerpiece and along with our bridges, serve to connect the community,” Barnhart said. “The bridges also enhance the community architecturally.”

Two more Towne Lake bridges are in the design phase – one on Greenhouse Road and one on Tuckerton Road. They should be under construction in the next four to six months, Barnhart said.

Despite an interesting turn in the real estate market, Barnhart said there is a high level of interest from potential buyers in Towne Lake. Sales activity has slowed a bit because people are taking their time when it comes to home purchases, he said, but the community has seen a steady stream of closings in recent months.

When fully built out, Towne Lake will have approximately 3,000 “Hill Country-inspired” single-family homes – many waterfront properties - ranging from the $200,000’s to multi-million-dollar properties. A 180-acre “Town Center” front U.S. 290 and will feature Class A office space and retail establishments. A specialty student housing development near the Lone Star College–CyFair campus it borders is under construction and will be ready for leasing in July. There will also be a community retail shopping and a myriad of waterfront restaurants on Barker-Cypress, as well as a community amphitheatre that seats 5,000-6,000.

In the heart of the community will be a marina and an additional community center with a competition pool, lagoon pool and lazy river. There will be about 20 parks and hiking and biking trails spread throughout Towne Lake, and “old-fashioned” fishing holes sprinkled throughout the community.

The Towne Lake community’s Welcome Center is located at 9214 W. Bridgeport Pass Circle.

For more information, go to www.townelaketexas.com or call 281-256-2772.

Towne Lake and KSBJ Free Mother's Day Concert

Greg Rivera — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Caldwell Companies’ family-focused Towne Lake Texas community off West Road near Barker-Cypress will serve as center stage for 89.3 KSBJ’s free Mother’s Day Concert on May 9.

Fathers, sons, and daughters are encouraged to treat mom to a fun-filled, Christian music concert from 12 – 2:30 p.m. on the shores of Towne Lake – Houston’s fourth largest lake. Caldwell Cos. Towne Lake is sponsoring the KSBJ concert, and Chick-Fil-A is providing food and beverages. Featured artists include Jimmy Needham, Denver & The Mile High Orchestra, and Chris and Conrad.

Families can also register mom for a free diamond necklace giveaway at the Towne Lake Booth. “Our purpose is to honor mothers in our community,” said Susan Caldwell with Caldwell Cos. “During this downturn in the economy, we want to take a positive outlook. We want to glorify God and have music that we can praise and worship to in honor of our mothers.” “We also want to help mothers in need, and are asking families who come to the event to bring a package of diapers, or a non-perishable food item,” Caldwell said.

The items collected at the event will be donated to Northwest Assistance Ministries, a multi-pronged social service agency that has helped those in need in north and northwest Harris County for more than 25 years. Donations are not required for free entry to the concert.

Those who attend the concert are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets. Attendees will be directed toward parking areas and shuttled to the concert location on the recently-completed 75-acre section of Towne Lake.

When fully built out, that 75-acre lake will be part of the larger 300-acre Towne Lake that serves as the centerpiece for the 2,400-acre master-planned community.

Towne Lake will have several sections of “Hill Country-inspired” single-family homes – some waterfront properties - ranging from the $200,000’s to multi-million-dollar properties. A 180-acre “Town Center” will front U.S. 290 and will feature Class A office space and retail establishments. A specialty student housing development near the Lone Star College–CyFair campus it borders is under construction and will be ready for leasing in July. There will also be a community retail shopping and a myriad of waterfront restaurants on Barker-Cypress, as well as an amphitheatre that seats 5,000-6,000.

In the middle of the community will be a marina and community center with a competition pool, laguna-style pool and lazy river. There will be about 20 parks spread throughout Towne Lake, and “old-fashioned” fishing holes sprinkled throughout the community.

Fred Caldwell, Caldwell Companies’ president and chief executive officer, said the company is striving to build community into every aspect of Towne Lake Texas. He said Caldwell Cos. is honored to host a concert honoring mothers, who are the heart and soul of the community’s families.

Founded in 1991, Caldwell Companies is a fully-integrated real estate services and development firm providing commercial and residential development, brokerage and property management. The firm is committed to the practice of doing business with a true sense of purpose – building community. Caldwell Companies is privately owned by Fred Caldwell and managed by senior managing partners. The goal of the company is to serve the commercial real estate needs of corporations and private equity investors by capitalizing on our market experience to gain distinct competitive advantages. Caldwell Companies and related investment ventures own, manage and market nearly six million square feet of office and office/flex space. Caldwell Companies’ growing residential development team specializes in high amenity resort communities for a new style of residential living.

For more information about the free Mother’s Day Concert, go to www.townelaketexas.com or call 281-256-2772.