Al Brende, cofounder and chief executive of Land Tejas, died on August 26 at the age of 80, according to an announcement from the company.
Brende was originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota. He began his career as a homebuilder in California and later worked as a land developer in Nevada. In the 1990s, he moved to Houston and co-founded Land Tejas with Courtney Grover in 1997. Over nearly three decades, Land Tejas developed more than 15,000 acres and over 20 communities in the Houston area.
The company is known for introducing guarded gates to entry-level home communities and for early adoption of technologies such as low-voltage wiring, fiber internet, and community-wide solar programs. The Balmoral community by Land Tejas was the first in Houston to feature a Crystal Lagoon amenity.
Sunterra, one of Land Tejas’ developments located in Katy near Houston, has consistently ranked among the top-selling master-planned communities nationwide. In 2023, it ranked fourth with 1,325 sales according to RCLCO Real Estate Consulting. Construction on Sunterra began in 2020; once completed it is expected to include about 7,000 homes.
In 2021, Starwood Land acquired a majority stake in Land Tejas through a $425 million purchase that included ten projects totaling approximately 16,000 lots. Earlier this year Starwood began developing Sunterra Lakes—a sister project covering 1,500 acres—which will eventually offer around 4,000 homes and an elementary school within the Royal Independent School District.
Starwood Land CEO Mike Moser commented on Brende’s passing: “His passion, his hobbies and his life were land development.”
Brende is survived by his wife Ann Bayless, three children and five grandchildren. Leadership at Land Tejas is expected to transition to his son Alan Brende and longtime CFO Melanie Ohl.
