LEAGUE CITY, TX-A development group has closed on 570 acres of a 1,704-acre option. The first phase will be a $50-million development with commercial buildings, single-family homes and community uses like churches, schools and parks.

The Wynne/Jackson Inc.-Eland Development Corp. is one of three developers lined up to develop 4,600 acres, with an estimated build-out value of $3 billion. The remaining 2,896 acres will be acquired and developed by McAlister & Co. and M. Sherman & Associates Land Development LLC, both from Houston. The estimated build-out time for the as-yet unnamed development is 15 to 20 years.

Scott Davis with CB Richard Ellis in Houston says the next step will be to lay utility and underground infrastructure for Wynne/Jackson's land, situated off FM 517. "They're ready to go on this part," adds Davis, who represented the buyer. Seller Richard K. Duncan trustee was represented by Jim Julian, an independent real estate agent from Houston.

Gary Davis, a member of Wynne/Jackson-Eland Development, says that while the partnership has 1,134 acres remaining in its option, there are no closing dates on the radar screen at this time. He tells GlobeSt.com that the land development and other paperwork on the 570 acres will take about two to 2.5 years to complete.

The initial vertical development will be single-family homes. "The commercial will follow, of course, once rooftops are up," Davis says. The acreage breakdown will be 51% single-family lots, 12% commercial or industrial and the remaining dedicated for community uses.

League City received the 2006 American Planning Association Award, given by the organization's Texas Chapter, for its cooperation with the three developers on the land use.