Cinco Ranch vs. Riverstone vs. Sienna Plantation (Sugar Land, Katy: renting, homes)

[Jonesie14]

Hi all!

We are moving this summer from Southern California and are looking at all 3 areas - Sienna, Riverstone, and Cinco Ranch. We have basic knowledge of the developments (and are aware that Katy is a bit of a drive from the other two). How would you say they differ from each other? Pros and cons of each area? Any info or insight is highly appreciated. Thank you!!!

[mikeyyc]

They're all very similar.

Cinco is the largest and most mature, also the most expensive of the three. It is out in Katy, so depending on your work address, I-10 can be tragic at times.

Sienna is also large, it's where I live, so I'm a bit biased. Lots of amenities, and the least expensive of the three. Also well treed naturally.

Riverstone is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the country, is priced between Cinco and Sienna last time I checked. Amenities tend to lag a bit behind the other two, but what they have so far is nice.

Both Cinco and Sienna have in-community golf courses, and both have full schools from K-12 within the confines of the neighborhood proper. Riverstone is slowly getting schools, but you can see on other threads here, in a bit of a state of flux.

The Fort Bend County Toll Road terminates right in Sienna, so getting in and out tends to be quick if you're headed downtown/Galleria/Med Center Riverstone is closer to TX-6 and 59. Depending on where you buy in Sienna it can be a bit of a drive off of 6. Personally I find that to be a feature, as it keeps people out of the area that don't have a specific reason to be there, since you can't "drive through" to get somewhere else. I can see how some would also see that as a drawback.

Riverstone and Sienna are both FBISD, and Cinco is in KISD, which has a better rating overall.

If you have specific questions, I'm happy to try and answer as best as I can.

[Liljo22]

I agree to a lot of what Mikey said. I can't talk about Cinco but I lived in Sienna for 7 years and have been renting the past 6 months in Riverstone while my Sienna home is being built. Here are the differences between the two.

Homes
Riverstone is a little more high end than Sienna. Its the same builders but some of the upgrades in Sienna are standard in Riverstone. You can still find homes that match Riverstone but overall most homes are not going to be as upgraded. If you are building, you can upgrade to Riverstone level. You also will have the more desirable Sugar Land address for most homes in Riverstone

Amenities
Sienna concentrated on amenities from the start and are way ahead of Riverstone. Riverstone has begun to focus on amenities and built a very nice pool and park area(the playground is really nice with a zip line and splash park). Sienna has two large resort style pools as well as two smaller quieter pools. Camp Sienna is their sports facility with multiple baseball/softball fields, soccor fields, and field turf football fields. It also has a amphitheater hill where a lot of events happen. They have a concerts in the spring and summer, full 4th of July fireworks display, a snow day with sledding, and movie watching nights in this space.

Schools
Sienna has 3 elementary schools, 1 Middle, and 1 High School with another elementary and middle school scheduled to be built with the Bond that just passed. Riverstone does not currently have an elementary or middle school within its boundaries but will be breaking ground soon on the elementary school. Most of the schools that both communities are zoned to are highly rated.

Retail/Restuarants
Riverstone has far more retail and restaurants close to it. Sienna has an HEB, Kroger, and Walmart at the entrance but Riverstone has all three plus a Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Kohls, Bed Bath and Beyond, Office Depot, and a few others I can not think of right now. They also have more restaurants, both chain and mom and pop. They are also closer to Sugar Land's main area that has a great Town Center and has the First Colony Mall. Once out of Sienna, its about a 7 minute drive to the Riverstone retail area but if you live in the back of Sienna, you are adding another 10-12 minutes to get out.

Easy of commute
With now living in both communities, I actually prefer the commute from Sienna better than Riverstone. I work in the downtown area and usually take the Fort Bend tollway in or cut over to 521 and take that in. Riverstone is located in the middle of 59 and the FB tollway so its a little bit of a drive to get to either highway. You can take 1092 up to 90 but I have found 1092 to have a ton of traffic in the morning and also has a ton of lights.

I love Sienna and prefer it over Riverstone but its all dependant on what your priorities are. You can't go wrong with either community.

[Jonathz]

Fort Settlement is the best middle school in Sugar Land and is zoned to Riverstone. Elkin high school which has the engineering academy is also zoned to Riverstone.

[Jonesie14]

Great info -- thank you!

[Houston321]

Where will work be? That is a huge factor.

[Familyrules]

Bump

[AliefPropOwner]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

They're all very similar.

Cinco is the largest and most mature, also the most expensive of the three. It is out in Katy, so depending on your work address, I-10 can be tragic at times.

Riverstone is just as expensive as Cinco IMO. I also believe its best of the three.

[mikeyyc]

Originally Posted by AliefPropOwner

I also believe its best of the three.

That's the joy of opinions. They're like belly buttons and other orifices (orifi? holes in your body?) Everyone has at least one.

[westres1]

I love the look of Sienna with all the trees and trails. If you worked in Med Center area it is a good commute. Riverstone is closer to more things to do but the commute could be bad depending on where you are going. Same with Cinco. All three are nice neighborhoods. It all depends on how long you want to be in the car every day imo.