Sienna, Texas - WikiHQ

Sienna, formerly known as Sienna Plantation, is a census-designated place and master-planned community located in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. It is mostly in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Missouri City with the remainder in the ETJ of Arcola. The population was 20,204 at the 2020 census, up from 13,721 at the 2010 census.

History

The Sienna subdivision is on land that previously operated as a sugar and cotton plantation, which relied on enslaved labor during the 19th century. The land was purchased in 1840 by Jonathan D. Waters, a South Carolina planter, who developed it into a working plantation along the Brazos River. Like many plantations in Texas at the time, it depended on enslaved people for agricultural production until the abolition of slavery in 1865.

In 1872, Houston businessman Thomas W. House acquired the property, followed by former Houston mayor Thomas H. Scanlan in 1913. The Scanlan family later entrusted the land to the Scanlan Foundation, which benefited the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston. From the 1950s until 1972, the Cenacle Sisters operated the Cenacle Retreat on the property as a religious retreat center.

In the 1970s, developer Larry Johnson founded the Johnson Development Corporation and began planning the transformation of the area into a master-planned community. In 1978, the initial development phase started, including single-family homes, roads, and a 10-mile-long levee for flood protection. However, the project stalled during the economic downturn of the 1980s.

The developer refocused efforts in 1994, with significant investments from Tan Yu, a billionaire developer from the Philippines, who was based in Taiwan at the time. By 2009, 5,000 of the 5,200 planned homes were occupied.

In May 2019, after requests from residents, community groups, and discussions about its historical connotations, the community officially changed its name from "Sienna Plantation" to "Sienna" to distance itself from its past as a site of enslaved labor.

Geography

thumb|left|Map of Sienna Plantation CDP

Sienna is located in eastern Fort Bend County at (29.493136, -95.506707). It is bordered to the north and west by Missouri City and to the northeast by Arcola. The Brazos River runs just west of the western border of Sienna, and Oyster Creek flows southwards through the center of the CDP. Downtown Houston is to the north. The first homes were sold in 1996.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.05%, is water. Sienna Parkway, the main thoroughfare in Sienna, is located off Highway 6. Sienna 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 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. In January 2009 the H-E-B Sienna Market Place, located at the entrance to the Sienna Plantation community, and a Kroger store located east of Sienna opened; before the openings, Sienna had a lack of proximity to grocery stores. 1850–1900 1910 1920 1930 1940

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

| align = right

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Sienna, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2020

!% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|9,483

|46.94%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|3,940

|19.50%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|43

|0.21%

|Asian alone (NH)

|2,606

|12.90%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|0.04%

|Other race alone (NH)

|110

|0.54%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|935

|4.63%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,079

|15.24%

|Total

|20,204

|100.00%

As of the 2020 census, Sienna had a population of 20,204 with 5,932 households and 5,494 families; the median age was 36.2 years. 33.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.

95.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,932 households in Sienna, of which 58.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 77.0% were married-couple households, 6.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 14.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 8.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Of the 13,721 people living in the CDP, 32.5% were under 18 years of age, with 4.3% under 5 years of age; 7.2% were age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In 1996, Missouri City and Sienna entered a joint development agreement. This stated that when Sienna was about 90% developed and when the City of Missouri City wished to assume the outstanding development debt of Sienna Plantation, the annexation would take place. There are periodic reviews of the annexation proposals. In 2011, one review concluded that due to the municipal utility debt, if residents of Sienna do not wish to pay extra taxes for fire and police services and other city services, then annexation should come about in 2027.

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 and Ronald Thornton Middle School (two separate attendance zones). All of which are located within Sienna.

Donald Leonetti Elementary School opened in 2017 and Ronald Thornton Middle School opened in 2018. Alyssa Ferguson Elementary School opened in 2023.

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

File:FBISD_Ridge_Point_High_School.jpg|Ridge Point High School

File:FBISD Thornton Middle School.jpg|Ronald Thornton Middle School

File:FBISD Leonetti Elementary.jpg|Donald Leonetti Elementary School

File:FBISD Scanlan Oaks Elementary.jpg|Scanlan Oaks Elementary School

File:FBISD Sienna Crossing Elementary.jpg|Sienna Crossing Elementary School

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Histories of schools

Before 2010, the portion east of Sienna Parkway was zoned to Hightower High School in Missouri City, while the portion west of Sienna Parkway was zoned to Elkins High School in Missouri City. In 2007 sections of Sienna were rezoned from Hightower to Elkins.

Lake Olympia Middle School in Missouri City served all of Sienna until fall 2006, when Baines Middle School was built.

Community colleges

The Texas Legislature specifies that the Houston Community College (HCC) boundary includes "the part of the Fort Bend Independent School District that is not located in the service area of the Wharton County Junior College District and that is adjacent to the Houston Community College System District." Wharton College's boundary within FBISD is defined only as the City of Sugar Land and the ETJ of Sugar Land, Sienna is not in the Sugar Land ETJ (it is in the Missouri City and Arcola ETJs).

HCC had a campus in Sienna from the fall of 2008 until May 2016, when the campus was closed and a new campus was built on Texas Parkway.

Public libraries

thumb|right|upright=0.68|Sienna Branch Library

Fort Bend County Libraries operates the Sienna Branch, which opened on April 24, 2010. The $15 million, two story facility, which has of space, was a joint project between the library system and Houston Community College.

As of May 2016, Houston Community College no longer has a presence in the library building.

Parks and recreation

thumb|left|upright=0.85|Camp Sienna - showing the baseball fields on the north side.

Zen T. C. Zheng of the Houston Chronicle said that Sienna has "a natural environment." The community has lakes, parks, trees, and a trail along of the frontage of the Brazos River. Sienna has a sports complex, an 18-hole championship golf course, recreational centers, an equestrian center, and water parks. The Sienna 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 field for Team 91 Texas which provides elite Lacrosse for 175 players to compete nationally. The recreational centers include an amphitheater and a fitness room.

Sawmill Lake Club is another option for events and activities for residents. Sawmill Event Pavilion includes an event building as well as recreational space for outdoor fun and relaxation. The resort features a pool, a lakeside patio with a fire pit, and a playground and splash pad for family fun. If cardio, strength training, and exercise classes interest you, the state-of-the-art fitness center is for you.

Religion

As of 2011 many Protestant churches are located in Sienna. On April 30, 2011, an LDS Church meeting house was scheduled to open in the community, serving a 200-member English-speaking ward and a 200-member Spanish-speaking ward.

St. Angela Merici Catholic Church was dedicated in 2017 and seats 2000.

References

External links

Sienna, Formerly Sienna Plantation
About Sienna