Home construction to start soon in Edgewater

Construction of the first houses in the delayed master-planned community of Edgewater in Webster is finally set to begin in mid-August, more than two years after originally slated.
A venture of Cherokee Investment Partners, LLC and The Johnson Development Corp., the mixed-use, Mediterranean-themed development is 538 acres, but only 250 acres can be developed, said Bob Douglas, Edgewater's general manager. Located on the site of a former power plant, it is bordered on the north by NASA Parkway, runs west to Texas 3, has a southern boundary of Clear Creek and stretches east to FM 270.
The project eventually will have approximately 400 houses, as well as mid-rise condominiums and townhouses. It also will have 375,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, a marina, and a 35-acre nature preserve with trails along Clear Creek, Douglas said.
So far, the development's housing only consists of 414 apartments that were completed this past spring, Douglas said. Of those apartments, 79 percent had been leased as of last week.
When the plans for Edgewater were unveiled in July 2006, Douglas had said that lots for houses could be ready for builders by May 2007. Instead, Newmark Homes Houston and Coventry Homes will start construction of Edgewater's first houses in mid-August in an approximately 140-lot section called Riverstone.
Douglas attributed the delay to the nation's economic slowdown.
Obviously, we would have gone quicker had the economy not turned the way it did," he said.
Riverstone's houses with 60-foot lots are expected to sell for an average price of $325,000, Douglas said. Those with 70-foot lots are expected to be sold for an average of $375,000.
But beyond two model houses and six speculative houses that could be finished by the end of this year, others will not be built in Riverstone until they are sold, Douglas said.
As buyers come in and pick out a lot and a house, then they'll start construction of their homes," he said.
The construction of 100 semi-custom houses in four sections and 50 custom houses in three sections will start in Edgewater next year, Douglas said.
The excavation of the marina could start this fall.
Construction of the marina should be complete in two years, Douglas said.
For now, construction of Edgewater's planned 375,000 square feet of commercial and retail development has been delayed because banks have pulled back on lending, Douglas said.
He said there has been considerable residential interest in Edgewater. Earlier this month, approximately 300 people attended an event in the master-planned community meant to publicize it.
Webster Mayor Floyd Myers remains cautious about the future of Edgewater. He cast the lone dissenting vote in February for a revised development agreement in which the city and Webster Economic Development Corp. will combine to eventually provide $12.97 million to Cherokee for the project.
I hope it goes through and they're successful," Myers said. If they're successful, then the city would be successful. If they're not then we've got problems."