RiverBend takes a turn for expansionFirst mixed-use project in League City grows from $80 million to $208 million

Houston Business Journal - by Allison Wollam Reporter

Three years after announcing plans for the first mixed-use development in League City, Deerwood Development Group Inc. has finally received approval for the planned urban development of their waterfront project, which has grown from an $80 million venture to a $208 million undertaking.
League City’s Planning and Zoning Committee approved the new PUD last month, which increased the original density of the RiverBend on Clear Creek project.
Darell Schmidt, president of Colorado-based Deerwood, which will sell pieces of the project with entitlements and improvements to other developers, says since the original PUD was approved back in April 2006 the footprint has changed dramatically.
“Over the last two years, we did our homework, asked a lot of questions and conducted multiple market and engineering studies ...,” he says.
Original plans for RiverBend called for four restaurant sites, two 100-room hotels, a marina and retail sites. The community was also slated to include 10 office pads which could accommodate residential lofts above the office space, as well as a 12-acre site for residential development.
Now, the denser project calls for 320,000 square feet of commercial office and medical space; 50,000 square feet of retail; a 142-room hotel and convention center; 16,000 square feet of restaurant space; 750 multifamily residential units — to include apartments, townhomes, condominiums and lofts — above the retail/office space; and an 80-slip day marina for public and private use.
Deerwood was able to eliminate most of the property’s flood plain, thereby making the site more fully developable to allow for the expanded uses.
Schmidt says the RiverBend site, located on the south shore of Clear Creek directly off of Interstate 45 and FM 518, did not sustain any major damage from Hurricane Ike. Deerwood is currently bringing in 140,000 cubic yards — which is equivalent to 87 feet tall — of dirt to raise the site, based on Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements.
Daren Schmidt, Darell Schmidt’s son and director of development for Deerwood, recruited League City-based Texcor Construction Services Inc. to perform mass grading on the development. Texcor began grading work in July.
Around the bend
Schmidt says the primary objective for RiverBend from the start was to preserve the wetlands adjacent to the waterfront.
The revised RiverBend project calls for a walkable, open-air model that is organized around a public plaza. Nature trails surround the plaza and pass through the wetlands on the water’s edge and connect to the marina on a lagoon.
Tony Allender, director of planning and development for the City of League City, says RiverBend has the potential to offer a first-class destination at the front door of League City.
“RiverBend will serve as a great economic catalyst for the additional improvements we want to see in the city,” he says. “It adds significant value and strength to the surrounding retail and local market.”
Allender says Deerwood worked with his staff to come up with ideas to minimize the traffic impact from the project.
A recent traffic impact analysis outlined several planned improvements to the corridors surrounding the site by the Texas Department of Transportation, including the NASA Road bypass and the State Highway 96 interchange. In addition, a ramp reversal near FM 518 will be installed, as well as a third lane on the I-45 feeder roads.
Once completed, this road work is expected to improve the site’s ability to handle the existing and projected traffic, Schmidt says. He believes the increased value of the project and design of the new site plan will make RiverBend more attractive to users. for more information see: www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com or www.houstonrealtyadvisors.net