Fresno

Teal Run is an up-and-coming swath of Fresno filled with modern residential developments, well-rated schools and a host of retail and dining establishments. The Teal Run area covers multiple different subdivisions. The sprawling Teal Run development itself is so expansive that it includes multiple branches, like Teal Run GMA, Teal Run North and Estates of Teal Run. Each subdivision offers community parks and annual events like Easter egg hunts and Christmas parties The area also encompasses the Andover Farms, Charleston Heights, Winfield Lakes and Cambridge Falls developments. The area is also just 2 miles from the Fort Bend Town Center, a quickly developing shopping mall with dozens of shops and restaurants. The Teal Run area offers a place where residents don’t have to give up relationships with their neighbors but can still enjoy retail amenities and a short commute to both Sugar Land and Houston. The Teal Run area’s developments share some common denominators, like straight-line blocks that are lined with sidewalks and carefully planted saplings. Properties usually have a front and back lawn, though lots are compact due to the rapid growth of the area. The properties across these subdivisions are modern, with the oldest houses built only as far back as the 1990s. Most current homes on the market were built after the turn of the 21st century. Most have a contemporary style with sharp, asymmetrical roofs, curved windows and entryways and facades adorned with brick and stone. Prices range between $200,000 to $400,000 on average for a 2,000-square-foot residence. “It is a good first-time home buyer area,” says Dwight Johnson, a Realtor through Keller Williams who has been selling homes in Houston since 2007. “It’s priced in such a way that it’s more affordable for some home buyers.” The schools in the Teal Run area are part of the Fort Bend Independent School District, which has an A overall grade from Niche. Teal Run families can send their children to Burton Elementary School and Lake Olympia Middle School, which both have B-minus scores on Niche. Hightower High School has a B score on Niche and offers a Medical Science Academy, a four-year program designed to help students get a head start on a medical career before college. If students want to start their higher education close to home, the University of Houston at Sugar Land is 13 miles away from Teal Run. Many of Teal Run’s individual developments have their own neighborhood green spaces and community centers. Teal Run North Park is a centrally located park off Teal Bend Boulevard in the middle of the main development. The plot includes a playground and pool for residents. The Estates of Teal Run Rec Center on West Teal Run Estates Circle is a local gathering place with an attached park space. On Farm to Market Road 521, the Mustang Park and Community Center complex is a favorite place for families to enjoy a splash pad, baseball and football fields, and a covered basketball court. Teal Run is 2 miles away from the Fort Bend Town Center development on Highway 6, which features hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space. The extensive space has necessary stops like a Kroger, as well as entertainment attractions like a Cinemark movie theater. “The Town Center is definitely a big attraction,” Johnson says. Farm to Market Road 521 is dotted with local favorite food trucks, including Tacos y Tamales Rossy and Taqueria Mendez, which are both known for savory tacos. Coffee lovers will want to check out Bean Here Coffee Lab and Studios on Sierra Parkway, which serves creative specialty drinks like a honey lavender rose latte. Many residents in the Teal Run area commute to Houston for work, which is a 27-mile drive. There are no easily accessible public transit options in the area, but drivers can tackle their commute by driving on the nearby Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road. Locals who work at Sugar Land will only have to drive 12 miles. This is especially convenient for employees at the city’s many medical centers, including Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, Kindred Hospital Sugar Land, Sugar Land Medical Center and St. Luke’s Health Sugar Land Hospital.