Century Communities hired 7gen Planning to create a community that exemplified its namesake, Aurora, meaning “new beginnings”. 7gen tied that theme into the overall character of the community, most notably in the entry monument of the rising sun.
7gen provided land planning and landscape architecture for this 130-acre single-family development. The recreation center quickly became the heart of the plan for the community as it was centrally located and immediately captures your eye as you turn on to the main entry boulevard. The plan provided key open space areas and trails throughout the detention area. All sections of the community connect residents to the recreation center and their neighbors without needing to drive.
The detention and drainage plan for Aurora was part of a master drainage plan that worked in conjunction with the adjacent 160-acre Katy Legacy tract, as all of this land was originally under the same ownership. Our team successfully reclaimed and developed acreage that was previously within the floodplain, gaining the client 210 additional lots. Also, the detention concept created an amenity pond adjacent to the recreation center. This pond serves not only as detention but will hold water year-round, giving much nicer aesthetics to the recreation area and the neighboring lots.
One of the most significant opportunities this site provided was existing oak trees. Although most of the site was barren of tree cover, 7gen identified multiple oak trees that were relocated during the initial construction along the main boulevard. This saved the client from n purchasing additional trees, providing the opportunity to add much more sizeable and functional plants to the project that would otherwise take years to establish.