When it is completed 25 years from now the 7,300-acre Sienna Plantation will be a mixed-use community that showcases the site's unique past while making the most of the technological future.
LJA recently finalized engineering services for the first 303 of a planned 14,000 lots for the Fort
Bend community, with another 350 lots under design. Construction is now underway on the high
profile entranceway to Sienna Plantation and on a new Fort Bend Independent School District
elementary school scheduled to open in September 1998. Home sales are currently underway by
Plantation, Emerald, David Weekley, Newmark and Perry Homes.
According to John Perry, vice president of LJA, Sienna Plantation will retain its special
atmosphere of woods, creeks, and lakes through careful engineering and planning. "The Sienna
Plantation property has natural water features that make it unique, including Oyster Creek and
Cow Bayou. It was our intention to utilize these and additional man-made waterways to manage
stormwater in a very natural way."
As a breakthrough feature, developer AFG Johnson Development L.L.C. has created the community's own private utility to provide cable, phone and other services to the area. Plans are to install fiber optic cable throughout the development and to pre-wire homes for interactive computer access. Says Perry, "Eventually, residents will be able to com-municate directly with their homes through hand held computers, to adjust their thermostats, turn the lights on, leave a message for the kids, and
have direct access to community bulletin boards, schools, recreation, and area service centers. Plans are to put Sienna Plantation squarely on the information highway."
Retaining Special History
LJA is providing full engineering design services for Sienna Plantation, entranced at the
intersection of State Highway 6 and Sienna Parkway. Part of LJA's responsibilities include the
creation of seven utility districts, in addition to providing design for water, drainage and sanitary
sewer systems. LJA is also providing total engineering and state-of-the-art GPS surveying for
site infrastructure, including roadways and utilities.
Key features include two 18-hole golf courses and 2,000 acres of recreational green belt, in
addition to the 90 acres of natural and manmade lakes. The area has been protected by a levee
since 1984.
Part of the architectural and engineering challenge stemmed from the desire to preserve Sienna
Plantation's rich and colorful history. Originally one of the largest sugar cane plantations in the
county, the site was marshaled both in the Civil War and the Battle of Texas Independence. The
property was donated to the Catholic diocese in the 1930's by the Scanlan family, whose father
had been Mayor of Houston in the late 1800's. An old family home moved from Houston was
used by the diocese as a retreat until the property was pur-chased in the 1970's. It has since been
used as a cattle ranch.
Great efforts have been put into preserving buildings remaining from the site's past along with
the 300 year-old trees that stand on the property. The original brick barn used to process sugar
cane will be used as a feature, as will the mansion, now fully restored. Ancient railroad trestle
bridges, originally constructed in the 1800's, have been incorporated into the jogging trail and
artifacts from the property are being carefully collected and displayed in the visitor's center.
While planning for an eventual population of 35,000 residents, the development team took its
cues from the past. Architecturally, Sienna Plantation has the look and feel' of an old plantation.
In addition, the community will distinguish itself with an old fashioned Town Center and its own
mailing address: "Sienna Plantation, Texas." Summarizes Perry, "Going out there now is like going back in time and it's our intention to preserve that character. This is definitely a unique place."
