Growth in the 1990s and 2000s
With its prime location on FM 521 and north of State Highway 6 in unincorporated Fort Bend County, developers have recently built large bedroom communities over what was once forest and grazing land, and a number of first-time homeowners have made the Fresno area home.
The demographics in the Fresno area have changed dramatically since the last United States Census in 2000 due to a large increase in home building.
The area is heavily Democratic in nature, and due to population increases in the area, Fresno was switched from Fort Bend County Precinct Two jurisdiction in 2003 and is now located within Fort Bend County Precinct One, which is located primarily on the western side of Fort Bend County, some 25 to 30 miles (40 to 48 km) away from Fresno, which is located in far eastern Fort Bend County.
Among the largest communities in Fresno are the six neighborhoods that make up the Fort Bend MUD #23 area. Teal Run, the oldest of the neighborhoods, was originally started in the 1980s, and development stopped with the Houston oil crash in the late 1980s. Construction in the subdivision started again in 1992.
The Estates of Teal Run, located at the intersection of Raab and Sycamore Road, was started in 1999.
Teal Run North (Villages of Teal Run and Teal Run Meadows), located just off Teal Bend Boulevard, directly adjacent to both Teal Run and Teal Run Estates, was started in 2001. There are over 3,100 total homes in the Fort Bend MUD #23 area in 2006.
NewPoint Estates, located across from Teal Run on Highway 6 and Darby Road, is an area for acreage-type home sites, stables and expensive properties. Winfield Lakes, which is located on Trammel Fresno Road, was started in 2004. Andover Farms, which is located on Highway 6 and South Post Oak Road, was started in 2004. Cambridge Falls started with infrastructure additions (lights, gas, water, sewer lines, streets) in 2005.
The newly built Fort Bend Tollway has given eastern Fort Bend County residents another option of travel into the city of Houston, as the Tollway is 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long from Highway 6 to U.S. Highway 90 in southwest Houston, and eventually will travel all the way to Loop 610. The average commute time for those living in eastern Fort Bend County using the full route from Highway 6 to Loop 610 (when it opens) should average 20 minutes. A typical trip down FM 521, which turns into Almeda in Houston, or State Highway 288 north into the Texas Medical Center, takes at least 30–45 minutes in rush hour traffic.
A Houston Chronicle article from February 25, 2007, titled "Straddling urban, rural in Fresno" highlights the unregulated nature of Fresno.
