Greater Katy
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This article is in reference to the area around the City of Katy, Texas. For more information regarding the City itself, please go directly to Katy, Texas.
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[edit] Introduction
Greater Katy is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. This area includes the City of Katy as well as surrounding suburban areas in unincorporated areas. This region includes parts of Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County much as the City of Katy does. Greater Katy is one of the fastest growing portions of the Houston metropolitan area. It has historically been home to a wealthy and professional occupation-holding population, however in recent years the region has been seeing some diversification.
The region is considered to include the City of Katy, unincorporated areas that are in the Katy Independent School District and some areas to the west of the City itself.
[edit] Greater Katy versus The City of Katy
The City of Katy is actually a very small area within Greater Katy. The City itself only has an estimated 13,000 residents as of 2004 (estimated). Many people confuse Greater Katy with the City of Katy, however there is no city representation or services provided to people outside of the actual city limits of Katy. Since this area is actually with the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston the city of Katy cannot annex this area without express permission from the City of Houston. This has occurred on several occasions in regards to relatively small tracts of land. Most recently this came into play with development of the Katy Mills Mall, which sat mostly within the City of Katy but a small portion of the parking lot was in the Houston ETJ.
While the city government of Katy only serves the area within their city limits, Greater Katy is serviced nearly entirely by entities such as the Katy Independent School District, the Greater Katy Chamber of Commerce, as well as nearly all postal addresses using Katy as the city name. Fire protection services are provided by a consortium of volunteer fire departments (VFDs) while law enforcement is provided by the respective county sheriff's departments (Harris, Waller, or Fort Bend).
A few areas with Katy addresses are served by the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. None of the areas are within the Katy city limits.
[edit] Key roads and streets within Greater Katy
[edit] North-South roads
(running from west to east)
- Morrison Boulevard (FM 2855)
- Pederson Road
- FM 1463
- Pin Oak Road
- Spring Green Road (FM 723) (Future)
- Gaston Road
- Katy-Fort Bend Road
- Grand Parkway (State Highway 99)
- Peek Road
- Mason Road
- Westgreen Boulevard
- Fry Road
- Greenhouse Road
- Barker-Cypress Road
- State Highway 6
- Eldridge Parkway
[edit] East-West roads
(running from north to south)
- Clay Road
- Morton (Ranch) Road
- Franz Road/Saums Road
- Colonial Parkway/Park Row
- US Highway 90 (Highway Boulevard)
- Katy Freeway (Interstate 10)
- Provincial Boulevard
- Kingsland Boulevard
- Highland Knolls Drive/Bay Hill Boulevard
- Cinco Ranch Boulevard
- Westheimer Parkway
- Fry Road (Which turns West between Westheimer Parkway and Mason Road)
- Westpark Tollway, FM 1093
The Grand Parkway has been identified as a possible routing for the future Interstate 69 extension through the state of Texas. At this time the Grand Parkway, the Katy Freeway, and the Westpark Tollway are currently Greater Katy's controlled-access highways built to Interstate standards.
[edit] Neighborhoods within Greater Katy
The Greater Katy area is very much defined by the neighborhoods that comprise where people live. In fact, the neighborhood that one lives in is almost as much a defining factor in Greater Katy as the occupation that one works in. Some of the neighborhoods and subdivisions that are in Greater Katy:
- Old Town Katy—This is within the City of Katy itself and is the oldest development in the entire Greater Katy area, dating back to the foundation of Katy itself in 1895. This includes the original downtown area.
- Katyland—Also within the City itself, it is east of the Old Town area.
- West Memorial—The oldest development outside the City of Katy, now located in the center of the Greater Katy area. Most of the homes here were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the area has indeed matured out with large trees lining the streets and homes there. Generally considered an older middle-class neighborhood.
- Williamsburg—This was supposed to be a master-planned community. Built in the late 70's/early 80's, and really didn't take off, some say, because it is located north of I-10. It's neighborhoods includes: Williamsburg Settlement, Williamsburg Parish, Williamschase, Williamsburg Hamlet, and Williamsburg Colony. Williamsburg Parish and Settlement are the two neighborhoods that stand above the rest. Settlement is comparable to Nottingham and Kelliwood. The Parish has new homes being built, and has tripled in size since 2000.
- Memorial Parkway—Neighborhood to the south and east of West Memorial. Both developments flank Mason Road. Memorial Parkway was built in the late 1970s and 1980.
- Cimarron—Also an older (relatively speaking) neighborhood in the core area of Greater Katy, similar to West Memorial.
- Nottingham Country—Built in the 1970s and 1980s as an upscale development with large brick homes and an oversized community center and swimming pool. Considered more upscale in the early years, it has lost some ground to Cinco Ranch and Grand Lakes. The newer Areas of Nottingham to the south are a more modern fit to today's look.
- Cinco Ranch—This is a collection of developments that was built out during the late 1980s and 1990s and is still growing. Second only to the Woodlands in growth. Cinco Ranch was the first of the "ultra modern" master planned developments to be built in Greater Katy. The amenities were and still are one of a kind. Typical subdivisions include swimming pools, parks, numerous lakes and man-made beaches. Housing prices range from the 120's to multi million dollar homes. Today many of the new shopping outlets in Greater Katy are located in Cinco Ranch and the general vicinity.
- Grand Lakes—A rather new neighborhood built between Cinco Ranch and the Westpark Tollway. The neighborhood has five sections right now, but is still developing.
- Falcon Point—A neighborhood built around the The Club at Falcon Point an 18 hole private golf club. Bay Hill Blvd comes to an end right in the middle of Falcon Point which is bordered by Roesner Rd and backs up to the Katy Mills Mall area.
- Firethorne/WoodCreek Reserve—-These are two new master-planned communities built near Katy. WoodCreek Reserve (at 600 acres) is inside Katy city limits, and Firethorne (at 1500 acres) is just outside it. Homes just started construction in Firethorne earlier this year. WoodCreek Reserve's construction started about three years ago. WoodCreek is also the first community in Texas to have the Martha Stewart Homes by KB Home.
- Park Lake—An upper class gated neighborhood located near Fry Road, just behind Pattison Elementary. Park Lake is divided into two sections: old and new. Construction in the old section began in 1999 and in the new section around 2002. Approximately 50 homes are currently occupied in the neighborhood, with several new construction projects underway.
[edit] Community information
The Katy Family YMCA is located in Cinco Ranch. The YMCA was originally named after Ken Lay; Lay asked for his name to be removed from the YMCA in June 2006.
Seven Meadows is the up and coming premier community of Katy. Adjacent to the community are Katy ISD's brand new schools, Griffin Elementary, Beckendorff Junior High and Seven Lakes High School. Avalon at Seven Meadows features lakefront custom and semi custom homes as well as patio golf course homes.
