Sienna, Texas-The Daily Ledger

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 of Missouri City. 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. Purchased in 1840 by South Carolinian Jonathan D. Waters, the tract included a wharf along the Brazos River. In 1872, Houston businessman Thomas W. House purchased the property, followed by former Houston mayor Thomas H. Scanlan in 1913. Scanlan's heirs' estate entrusted the property to the Scanlan Foundation, which benefited the Catholic Diocese of Houston. From the 1950s until 1972, the diocese operated the Cenacle Retreat on the land under the direction of the Cenacle Sisters.

Sienna, Texas

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

Sienna, Texas

The developer refocused his efforts in 1994. The development of Sienna 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.

Sienna, Texas

In May 2019, the community changed its name from "Sienna Plantation" to Sienna in response to requests from Facebook groups, residents, and others.

Geography

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.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.05%, is water.

Cityscape

The development is south of Texas State Highway 6. 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.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,204 people, 6,089 households, and 5,494 families residing in the CDP.

As of the census of 2010, there were 13,721 people and 4,757 households in the CDP. The population density was . The racial makeup of the CDP was 57.2% White, 29.8% African American, 4.6% Asian, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.7% of the population.

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.

For the period 2010–14, the estimated median annual income for a household in the CDP was $130,300, and the median income for a family was $130,457. Male full-time workers had a median income of $107,798 versus $74,224 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $46,039. About 7.0% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In 1996 Missouri City and Sienna had a joint development agreement. It states that when Sienna 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, do not wish to pay extra taxes for fire and police services and other city services, then annexation should occur in 2027.