Dive Brief:

• Canadian developer Empire Continental Land has begun work on a 206-acre community in League City, TX, near Houston, amid strengthening market conditions.

• The community will include 540 homes priced from the mid-$200,000s. It will also offer parks, trails, lakes and a recreation center.

• Empire’s other Texas developments include the 600-acre Dellrose master-planned community on Houston’s northwest side; Sommerall Park, also in Houston; Hidden Lakes, in League City; Katy Trails, in Katy; and Lakeside, in Georgetown.

Dive Insight:

Empire is among the many developers cashing in on the growth in residential construction across Texas, as healthy employment levels and low housing costs drive population growth there. Houston, in particular, is seeing several large-scale residential projects come to fruition.

Dallas-based developer Republic Property Group said last week that it has added Toll Brothers to its list of homebuilders for the first phase of its 7,200-acre Walsh master-planned community in Fort Worth, TX.

In November, Phoenix-based developer Alliance Residential Co. announced that it is near completion on seven apartment developments in Houston that should deliver more than 2,200 units to the city.

Increased residential activity in Texas metros has given the state’s construction economy a boost. A study by apartment-finding website ABODO recently found that Texas metros offered the best job opportunities in the industry of cities nationally between 2012 and 2015. Houston was first on the list, with Forth Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas also in the top 10.

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