Sienna Plantation, Texas

Sienna Plantation, Texas
CDP
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Fort Bend
Area
• Total	13.61 sq mi (42.6 km2)
• Land	13.31 sq mi (41.8 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
Elevation	59 ft (18 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	13,721
• Density	1,008/sq mi (45.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
FIPS code	48-67766
GNIS feature ID	1852766

Sienna Plantation (often referred to as "Sienna") is a census-designated place and master-planned community located in Missouri City, mostly in its extraterritorial jurisdiction, within Fort Bend County, Texas. The population was 13,721 at the 2010 census.

History

The Sienna Plantation subdivision is on land that previously operated as a sugar and cotton plantation. Purchased in 1840 by South Carolina planter Jonathan D. Waters, the tract included a wharf along the Brazos River. In 1872, Houston businessman Thomas W. House purchased the property, followed by Houston mayor Thomas H. Scanlan in 1913. Scanlan's heirs' estate entrusted the property to the Scanlan Foundation, which benefited the Houston Catholic diocese. From the 1950s until 1972, the diocese operated the Cenacle Retreat on the land under the direction of the Cenacle Sisters. They chose the name Sienna Plantation in honor of the Siena area of Tuscany in Italy.

In the 1970s developer Larry Johnson founded the Johnson Development Corporation and in 1978 began development of the project. In the mid-1980s the Johnson Corporation began construction of single family homes, roads, and a ten-mile-long levee for flood protection. The project stalled during the economic meltdown of the 1980s.

The developer refocused his efforts in 1994. The development of Sienna Plantation was organized by Tan Yu, a billionaire developer from the Philippines who, in 1997, was based in Taiwan. In 2009 5,000 of the 5,200 houses in Sienna Plantation were occupied.

Geography

Map of Sienna Plantation CDP

Sienna Plantation is located at (29.493136, -95.506707).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 13.61 square miles (35.2 km²), of which, 13.31 square miles (34.5 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) of it (1.82%) is water.

Cityscape

The development is south of Texas State Highway 6. Sienna Parkway, the main thoroughfare in Sienna Plantation, is located off of Highway 6. Sienna Plantation has many single-family houses of various designs and styles. In 2009 the prices ranged from $160,000s to the millions. A section of Sienna Plantation has custom houses that, as of 2009, were priced in the $500,000s. As of that year a 272 unit apartment complex was under construction at the entrance to Sienna Plantation. In January 2009 the H-E-B Sienna Market Place, located at the entrance to the Sienna Plantation community, and a Kroger store located 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Sienna Plantation opened; before the openings, Sienna Plantation had a lack of proximity to grocery stores.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 13,721 people and 4,013 households residing in the CDP. The population density was 17.5 people per square mile (45.3/km²).

In 2000, there were 665 housing units at an average density of 41.2/sq mi (15.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 66.67% White, 16.56% African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.59% Asian, 9.18% from other races, and 2.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.09% of the population.

There were 565 households out of which 57.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.1% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.6% were non-families. 8.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 35.6% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 40.5% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 2.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 106.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $97,466, and the median income for a family was $100,310. Males had a median income of $63,241 versus $41,607 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $34,432. About 2.9% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In 1996 Missouri City and Sienna Plantation had a joint development agreement. It states that when Sienna Plantation is about 90% developed and when the City of Missouri City wishes to assume the outstanding development debt of Sienna Plantation, the annexation will occur. There are periodic reviews of the annexation proposals. In 2011, one review concluded that due to the municipal utility debt, if residents of Sienna Plantation, do not wish to pay extra taxes for fire and police services and other city services, then annexation should occur in 2027.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Sienna Plantation is served by the Fort Bend Independent School District. The community is within the East Division, controlling school board slots 5 through 7. As of 2008 the board members in the slots are Laurie Caldwell, Steve Smelley, and David Reitz, respectively.

The community is zoned to Sienna Crossing Elementary School, Scanlan Oaks Elementary School and Jan Schiff Elementary School (three separate attendance zones). The community is also zoned to Baines Middle School, which is located within Sienna Plantation. Before 2010 the portion east of Sienna Parkway is zoned to Hightower High School in Missouri City, while the portion west of Sienna Parkway is zoned to Elkins High School in Missouri City. Since the fall 2010, all of Sienna is served by the new FBISD Ridge Point High School located in Sienna Plantation on Waters Lake Blvd. Lake Olympia Middle School in Missouri City served all of Sienna Plantation until fall 2006, when Baines Middle School was built.

Sienna Lutheran Academy is a private school that caters to the Christian education of children in grades K-8.

Community colleges

Houston Community College (HCC) serves Sienna Plantation. In the fall of 2008, HCC opened a satellite campus near the entrance to Sienna Plantation.

Public libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries operates the Sienna Branch, which opened on April 24, 2010. The $15 million, two story facility, which has 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²) of space, was a joint project between the library system and Houston Community College. The library is a part of the HCC campus and is open to the public and HCC students.

Parks and recreation

Zen T. C. Zheng of the Houston Chronicle said that Sienna Plantation has "a natural environment." The community has lakes, parks, trees, and a trail along 4 miles (6.4 km) of the frontage of the Brazos River. Sienna Plantation has a 160 acres (65 ha) sports complex, an 18 hole championship golf course, recreational centers, and water parks. The Sienna Plantation sports complex is the home to a variety of youth club sports programs, including, the Sienna Panthers Lacrosse Club which has 240 youth lacrosse players ranging from 1st grade to High School. It is also the home fields for Team 91 Texas which provides elite Lacrosse for 175 players to compete nationally. The recreational centers include an amphitheater and a fitness room.

Religion

See also: Religion in Houston

As of 2011 many Protestant churches are located in Sienna Plantation. On Saturday April 30, 2011 a new LDS Church meeting house, located on a in Sienna Plantation, was scheduled to open. The facility was scheduled to serve a 200-member English-speaking ward and a 200-member Spanish-speaking ward. Prior to the church's opening, Sienna Plantation-area Mormons went to Mormon congregations in the Sharpstown area of Houston and in Sugar Land.

External links

• Sienna Plantation
• Sienna Plantation, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

• Sienna Panthers Lacrosse Club [1]