The suburbs of Houston haven’t traditionally been viewed as a haven for progressive urbanism and car-free real estate development. But a local development company believes its new master-planned community, and its focus on shared lawns between homes, will give families a more socially oriented option.
In Indigo, a community under development in Katy, Texas, master developers Meristem Communities are designing neighborhoods around a centuries-old urban planning concept called mews. Historically, mews were alley-like areas behind old carriage houses that basically served as stables for horses. In today’s socially isolated era, Meristem sees the idea of stitching together homes with a shared front yard—prioritizing play space, social areas, and pedestrian safety—as a big selling point.
“We’re both dads with young kids, and we want to kick our kids out the door to play like we grew up in the ’80s,” said Clayton Garrett, one of the founding partners. “For all sorts of reasons, that doesn’t exist today. The free-range kids movement is happening right now, but not on the development side. That’s what we set out to do in many ways.”
The development’s plan, to swap out traditional driveways and some streets with shared park space—actually saves money, said Scott Snodgrass, the other founding partner. This allows Meristem to invest even more in landscaping and design. Bocce ball courts, playgrounds, and outdoor kitchens (in addition to seating) are sprinkled throughout these parks, which range from 50 to 150 feet wide and thread through the development. Trading concrete and asphalt for green space also has other benefits, including reducing the urban heat island effect, boosting resiliency with water-absorbing plants, and improving pedestrian safety and neighborhood interaction by reducing car trips.
The 235-acre Indigo project broke ground in February 2022 and will eventually include 670 homes, 130 apartments, a large lake, shared retail, and on-site agriculture. The first group of homeowners are expected to move in this April; the entire project is scheduled to be finished by 2026.
Meristem spent $95 million on landscaping and designing the site, while a trio of homebuilders will build and sell the homes and apartments. Garrett and Snodgrass are particularly proud of the variety of housing sizes and price points available; a 950-square-foot home can be had for $219,000, with many more sizable models available.
Meristem—a botany term that refers to the part of the plant where cell division happens—launched roughly 15 years ago when Snodgrass and Garrett started an edible landscaping company. They went on to start running farms for real estate developments that used agriculture as an amenity. Before the pandemic, they bought a plot of land near Katy to develop their own farm; they soon realized it was more than they needed and would be hard to turn a profit. Instead, they pivoted and decided to develop a large part of the land into a new type of planned suburban community.
Indigo joins a number of other new U.S. master-planned developments with a focus on walkability and social interaction. Culdesac, a self-proclaimed car-free neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona, has earned plaudits for its encouragement of public transportation. It’s a wider push for what real estate newsletter Thesis Driven has called the walkable exurban downtown, a development trend capitalizing on Americans’ preference for walkable neighborhoods. Turns out some of the easiest and most profitable places to put them are in new, ground-up communities built on the urban fringes.
Meristem isn’t car-free by any means; it’s still suburban Texas, 30 miles from downtown Houston, without significant mass transit connections. There are plenty of garages, parking, and streets interlacing the development. But walking will be more prioritized in Indigo than in most suburbs, with not just the mews but also a trail network and raised pedestrian crossings.
Snodgrass and Garrett believe that along with adjoining on-site retail, Indigo will ideally lead to a more connected community.
“The level of interest here speaks to the human experience that people are craving,” said Garrett. “Generally, nobody’s enjoying their experience of suburbia.”
