What’s happening at the Colony Ridge residential area?

Colony Ridge is home to a large number of enterprising entrepreneurs and the neighborhood’s explosive growth is the driving force behind the fastest growing school district in the state.

Colony Ridge is also facing a series of legal challenges. Both the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Texas have sued the developer, accusing the company and its affiliates of exploiting Latino land buyers.

The lawsuits were filed after some Republican Texas lawmakers falsely claimed the community was a magnet for illegal immigration and Mexican drug cartels.

From fact-checking far-right rhetoric to investigating predatory lending practices, covering ongoing lawsuits and documenting the influx of students into Cleveland ISD, here’s everything you need to know about Liberty County’s largest real estate developer.

What is Colony Ridge?

The residential area consists of six subdivisions and nearly 42,000 lots, built by brothers William “Trey” Harris and John Harris starting in 2011.

Neighboring communities and conservative media compared Colony Ridge to a colony Because of the predominantly Latino, non-American population, development attracted cheap land and limited regulation. State and federal officials generally define colonias as unincorporated settlements near the U.S.-Mexico border with few public services.

Why did Colony Ridge catch the attention of lawmakers?

Last year, the Harris brothers invited 22 lawmakers and staff from the Texas attorney general’s office and the Texas House of Representatives to tour Colony Ridge after far-right media outlets in early October called it a “magnet for illegal immigrants.”

The state’s traveling lawmakers saw no evidence to support these claims and said further action must be based on facts.

However, all 25 Republican members of the Texas House delegation, none of whom attended the tour, signed a letter to Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick claiming that Colony Ridge has a “staggering illegal immigration population” and is experiencing “ongoing drug cartel activity.”

Patrick at the time conflated the development boom with President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, but he provided no evidence to support his claim. The lieutenant governor also cited concerns about the environment, public safety and education.

What do Liberty County authorities say about these claims?

Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader said that while Colony Ridge has some crime and cartel activity, violent crime is no higher in Colony Ridge than in other Houston-area communities.

State data shows Liberty County’s violent crime rate in 2022 was lower than jurisdictions overseen by the Houston Police Department and sheriffs in Harris, Galveston and Chambers Counties. Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller Counties also reported lower violent crime rates.

Rader’s biggest complaint is that there aren’t more officers to patrol the project, which covers 33,000 acres (an area larger than Manhattan) and is hampered by the county’s relatively small tax base.

Was this the first time lawmakers and government agencies heard about Colony Ridge?

Not necessarily. Documents show that at least three state agencies were warned about the developer’s business practices before last year.

Between 2016 and 2023, residents filed more than five dozen complaints with government agencies about Colony Ridge and Terrenos Houston, a sister company of Colony Ridge that advertises lots, financing options, commercial zones and any options for building or placing a home on a lot.

In total, the state received 69 complaints.

Who are the people of Colony Ridge?

Population estimates vary depending on who you ask, but most residents are of Hispanic descent, said John Harris, president and CEO of Colony Ridge Inc.

Harris said the development is home to about 40,000 people. But Liberty County officials estimate it could be anywhere from 75,000 to more than 100,000 residents.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Liberty County has a population of just over 108,000. However, local officials say that number is too low because Colony Ridge’s residents, who are largely immigrants, are harder for census takers to reach.

RELATED: View a satellite video of the growth of residential development between October 2016 and July 2024.

The population growth has also brought with it an entrepreneurial spirit. The development is filled with local businesses such as restaurants, food stalls, food trucks, hair salons, auto repair shops and more.

What impact does Colony Ridge have on the local school district?

Colony Ridge’s rapid growth has catapulted Cleveland ISD’s student enrollment. In 2013, the district had fewer than 3,300 students. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, enrollment will reach more than 12,000 students.

To keep up, the district built three additional elementary schools and one high school.

Since 2019, Liberty County voters have failed to approve four Cleveland ISD bond proposals, including a proposal last year to fund additional school buildings, classrooms and buses.

Why are so many people buying Colony Ridge land?

Unlike standard lending institutions that have strict lending standards and lengthy approval processes, Colony Ridge does not check credit history when offering loans.

This, on top of nominal down payments, has resulted in a population explosion. Company officials say many of those who have moved to Colony Ridge in the past decade are Latino and likely would have had trouble getting loans elsewhere because of their limited credit history.

However, the internal loans have a high interest rate of up to 13 percent.

What is Colony Ridge accused of?

The Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accuse Colony Ridge of targeting Latin American borrowers with false advertising and predatory lending.

In a federal lawsuit filed in December, the government alleged that Colony Ridge misled borrowers with loans they could not afford, lied about the terms of lots for sale and exploited language barriers by advertising almost exclusively in Spanish while providing key financial documents only in English.

Federal prosecutors hope to convince the judge overseeing the case that Colony Ridge committed “reverse redlining,” the illegal practice of extending loans on unfair terms to underserved communities based on discrimination.

In March, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed his own lawsuit against the developer, alleging that the developer is using an aggressive marketing strategy to lure vulnerable borrowers into loans they can’t afford.

“The development profited from targeting consumers with fraudulent claims and predatory lending practices,” Paxton said earlier this year. “Their deceptive practices caused unjust and disproportionate harm. Nearby communities bore enormous costs for the scheme that made the developers of Colony Ridge a fortune.”

John Harris has said the lawsuits, which echo the findings of a Houston Landing investigation into Colony Ridge’s business practices, are baseless and fueled by excessive attention from politicians and right-wing groups.

Will Colony Ridge buyers ever get relief?

Residents who say they were scammed into buying land from Colony Ridge are hoping for some form of compensation if Texas and the Justice Department win their ongoing lawsuits.

The Landing spoke with several experts on credit discrimination, all of whom said both Texas and the federal government have strong cases. Settlements are possible, but distributing aid to former Colony Ridge residents could prove challenging, since many have since moved elsewhere.

What’s next for Colony Ridge?

Attorneys for Colony Ridge, the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appeared in court in August for a hearing on the federal case.

Stone Hilton’s Ari Cuenin called for dismissal, arguing the federal government failed to meet the standard for discrimination.

“I had a hard time following the government’s argument when they tried to articulate what the legal standard is,” he said before U.S. District Court Judge Alfred Bennett. “It fell apart during their presentation.”

Bennett gave no indication when he would rule on the motion to dismiss.

No hearing has yet been scheduled in the case, which was recently transferred from U.S. District Court Judge Keith Ellison to Judge Peter Bray.

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