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Already better than The Woodlands? Springwoods Village to compete with ecotrails

An artist’s rendering looking south at the Holzwarth Road bridge across SpringCreek that connects the Springwoods Village community with The Woodlands inMontgomery County. The Springwoods Village Nature Preserve is to be located tothe right.
The plan features a nature center building, out of the floodplain, and a seriesof hard and soft trails through the 150 acres of forest habitat, wetlands and apond.
The planned community structure at Springwoods Village
Located 30 miles north of Houston, Springwoods Village is the last remainingmajor undeveloped piece of land along Interstate 45 and comprises about 1,800acres.

Life on the cul-de-sac has never been so eco-friendly: Just when you thought that The Woodlands represented the last frontier in far-flung New Urbanism, Coventry Development Corp. has in the works an 1,800-acre master-planned development south of The Woodlands, to be known as Springwoods Village.

The name of the game is "sustainability" for the suburb, which will straddle I-45 and a proposed future extension of the Grand Parkway — a ring road that has come under criticism for destroying wildlife habitat.

Springwoods Village's developers anticipate a walkable community with "smart, sustainable elements." We can expect a hip mix of luxury rentals, "urban-style" compact housing and single-family dwellings with yards.

A highlight green feature of the $10 billion community is a peripheral mile-long natural open space that is slated to become part of a regional greenway system, allowing for 33 miles of trails, recreation and natural ecosystems for the Springwoods community. Coventry — the development company behind Springwoods — elaborates on its website:

"The mixed-use community will unfold carefully and methodically to balance nature, urbanism and diversity. The existing forest and Spring Creek ecosystems will be protected and preserved utilizing the best practices in sustainable design and infrastructure. Springwoods Village will be user friendly, earth friendly, connected and current."

One thoughtful aspect of the design is the attention to wind aeration. The community is positioned to take advantage of prevailing winds from the southeast, which Coventry promises are consistent in frequency, duration and speed. The developers have also identified areas of "wind catchment" or wind chimneys — architectural devices that enable the wind from above to be brought down to the ground, providing further comfort for pedestrians in key areas of the community.

The community's construction is bound to devastate a portion of local wildlife habitat, but Coventry promises to "reconstruct savannah wetland ponds and create open green spaces," including a water feature that "looks like it was etched by water over the millennia."

Poetic sounding, no? Surely the up to 5,000 homes, 8.5 million square feet of commercial development and more than one million square feet of retail space will have little impact upon the native state of Springwoods Village.

There's speculation that Springwoods will be a home-base for employees of a future consolidated Exxon Mobil campus. Coventry begins two years of infrastructure work during the second quarter of 2011, at which point it will sell land tracts to outside developers who will construct office buildings, hotels, retail centers and residences.

unspecified

Starts at $2.8 million

New luxury condo project will heat up River Oaks with in-unit saunas

Ace & Ivy condominium development rendering

Courtesy of Ace & Ivy

Ace & Ivy will open at 3100 W. Alabama.

A wellness-focused luxury condominium building is coming to River Oaks. When it opens in 2028, Ace & Ivy will offer a number of amenities designed for people who want to integrate health and exercise into their residence.

Located at 3100 W. Alabama, each of the 31 residences will feature an in-unit sauna, steam shower, and red-light therapy. The three penthouses go a step farther with an in-unit wellness suite that includes a sauna, steam shower, hot-and-cold contrast therapy, and full-body red-light therapy bed.

Residents of the building will have access to a number of amenities, including a spa with hydrotherapy and meditation rooms, dedicated fitness center with yoga studio, pool, lounge with catering kitchen for hosting larger gatherings, mahjong parlor, and a garden.

“Ace & Ivy was founded on the belief that your home should help you live well,” said Winson Ho, founder and CEO of Everlight Group, the company that is developing the project. “We were inspired by Blue Zone research which focuses on activity, purpose, and strong social connection, and integrated it into an elevated residential community. I’m excited for residents to experience what happens when well-being is part of their everyday environment.”

The condominium building will serve as the anchor for a new mixed-use development that will also include a 15-court indoor pickleball club along with restaurant and retail tenants. Lake Flato, the Texas-based architecture and design firm behind Houston’s Hotel Saint Augustine (among others), will design both the Ace & Ivy building and overall development.

Douglas Elliman Development Marketing will handle the sales and marketing for the building. Units are expected to start at $2.8 million, but prices are subject to change.

“Houston’s luxury buyer has evolved significantly over the past several years,” said Catherine Lee, president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, Texas. “Today’s purchasers prioritize daily lifestyle and longevity as much as traditional luxury finishes. Ace & Ivy delivers a true lock-and-leave residence while still offering the wellness and social amenities buyers previously had to seek out at private clubs or destination resorts.”

Courtesy of Ace & Ivy

Ace & Ivy will open at 3100 W. Alabama.

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