Jersey Village unveils schematics for proposed urban development

Jersey Village unveils schematics for proposed urban development

By Kimberly Stauffer Friday, 15 January 2010

HOUSTON — The City of Jersey Village unveiled a transportation-oriented development schematic capitalizing on the proposed Hwy. 290 commuter rail line to attract new residents and revitalize the town at a recent public meeting.

The proposed project is a planned mixed-use facility composed of a variety of housing, retail and commercial businesses and green space for residents and visitors designed around a train station on the south side of the highway. Crafted in the image of successful developments like The Woodlands’ Town Center, the project caters to pedestrians with special attention to safety, street parking and easy access to the commuter train.

“We prefer to be on the planning side of [the Hwy. 290 construction] rather than the receiving side,” said councilman Curtis Haverty.

The Texas Department of Transportation's Hwy. 290 project will include widening Hwy. 290, adding managed lanes and a proposed rail line running on or alongside the Union Pacific freight rail road. The train could make four to six stops twice daily, making the urban development a transportation hub for northwest Houston residents.

Joe Willhite, a certified urban planner with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., presented two designs for public comment at the meeting that integrated the city’s desire for a development with a sustainable tax base and multiuse buildings that will give them a financially viable opportunity to annex the approximately 300 acres within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. Jersey Village has only annexed 55 acres of the south side property in Harris County.

Both design options presented buildings with a maximum height of three to five stories depending on location and pedestrian walkways through shopping, residential and green areas. As the property is part of a floodplain, the second option includes building a waterway that snake through the development to utilize the necessary drainage space.

Mike Castro, city manager, said Jersey Village needs to be proactive in developing property that will draw new life into the city.

“I guarantee that is we sit here and do nothing right now, we will end up with Hwy. 290 underdeveloped and underutilized,” Castro said.

If the city annexes the property, Castro said it could rezone the area and have some land-use control over development.

“If we annex, we as a city have greater control,” he said. “If we don’t, it’s the wild west. If we don’t annex, we don’t get property and sales taxes.”

Castro said a study commissioned by the city four years ago to investigate if annexation of the land in its current state was financially possible reported the cost of annexation and necessary services the city would have to provide far outweighed any revenue.

“Now we’re going back in with this schematic design asking what kind of revenue could this generate, and what services would it require?” Castro said.

The city council expects to have a better understanding of whether or not the city can afford to annex and develop the project in about six to eight months.

LaJean English, a 15-year resident of Jersey Village, said the development is exactly what the city needs.

“Jersey Village has gotten to be an old town,” she said. “It’s time to get out of that. It’s time for a change. We need something to put us back on the map.”

To learn more about the proposed development, call the City of Jersey Village at 713-466-2102 or visit www.jerseyvillage.info.