Copperfield is a series of master-planned subdivisions in unincorporated northwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. The community, developed by Friendswood Development Company, has 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) of land.[1]
Horsepen Bayou and its tributaries are within the community.[3]
History
Friendswood Development Company bought 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) at the corner of Texas State Highway 6 and Farm to Market Road 529 from the Gus Wortham estate in 1977. Two years later the first houses in Copperfield had been built and sold. In 1989 Friendswood Development bought an additional 260 acres (110 ha) and continued building houses into the 1990s.[3] In 1991 Standard Pacific of Houston had acquired 70 acres (28 ha) in Copperfield from Friendswood Development and planned to build 265 houses in Copperfield Place Village, a community within Copperfield.[4]
In July 2009 some residents asked for additional police presence after multiple burglaries occurred. The Harris County Sheriff's Office stated that the number of residential burglaries for the first half of 2009 in the area was less than the equivalent number in 2008.[5]
Government and infrastructure
Copperfield has deed restrictions intending to preserve what Katherine Feser of the Houston Chronicle refers to as a "consistent look." The subdivision prohibits billboards from appearing on commercial frontage. In 2000 the community had an annual maintenance fee of $280 per year per household.[1]
The community has 24-hour Sheriff's Patrol through Harris County and additional paid contract through the Association.
The portion of Copperfield west of Highway 6 is in County Precinct 3, headed by Steve Radack as of 2009, while the portion east of Highway 6 is in County Precinct 4, headed by Jack Cagle.[7][8]
Copperfield has seven "villages" located on both sides of State Highway 6 between FM 529 and Pebble Lake Drive.[3]
Copperfield Place Village, developed by Standard Pacific of Texas, is located east of Highway 6.[3]
Easton Commons Village, developed by Standard Pacific of Texas, is located east of Highway 6.[3]
Middlegate Village is to the north, located west of and along Highway 6.[3]
Northmead Village is west of and along Highway 6, between Middlegate Village and Southdown Village.[3] Northmead had 958 houses in 2000. The most prominent builders of houses in the village were David Weekley Homes and Village Builders. In 2000 Rick Raymor, a real estate agent with Heritage Texas Properties, said that the price ranges in the subdivision were between $70,000 and $115,000. Raymor stated that the range represents the "smaller end of the spectrum, which makes it a really desirable first-time home for a buyer who wants to gain some good equity." According to Raymor, patio homes on some streets, which ranged between 900 and 1,500 square feet (140 m2) in area, ranged in price between $70,000 and $85,000; other houses ranged in area between 1,400 and 2,100 square feet (200 m2). In 2000 almost all of the houses in Northmead were built in the 1980s. During the same year, Ellen Vezendy, a former homeowner who sold her then-12-year-old house to another person and was quoted in a Houston Chronicle article in 2000, stated that "empty nester"s and families with young children moved into previously occupied houses in the subdivision.[1]
Southcreek Village is along FM 529 to the west.[3]
Southdown Village is to the south, west of and along Highway 6.[3]
The 'Copperbrook' sub-division lays off Highway 6 and West Road, and is a 290 single family home sub-division. The area was initially planned to be for industrial use as part of the Westland 4 industrial area, but US Homes developed the residential sub-division in 1996. Recently, house prices in the area have risen substantially, with prices ranging from around $150-$240,000 (2014). Copperbrook HOA maintains the community pool complex and other communal areas of the sub-division, and meets at the nearby La Madeleine restaurant at 5:00 pm the first Tuesday of each month. Copperbrook is patrolled by HCSO and by a private security firm.
Parks and recreation
All Copperfield residents have access to the 10-acre (40,000 m2) community center and community park on Willow River Drive, near Highway 6. Each village in Copperfield has one or more parks and a recreation and/or pool area.[3] For instance, Northmead Village has greenbelts, two area parks, and a pool.[1]
The neighborhood also offers a well established youth summer swim team, the Copperfield Dolphins Swim Team. One of the oldest summer swim leagues in the area ( est.1980) the Copperfield Dolphins is a not-for-profit summer swim team open for boys and girls from 4 to 18 years old who live in the Copperfield subdivision of Houston, Texas.
Elementary schools within Copperfield serving sections of Copperfield include Copeland,[11] Fiest,[12] and Lowery.[13] Elementary schools outside of Copperfield serving sections of Copperfield include Holmsley and Owens.[14][15]
