A Look into The Woodlands

The Premier Master-Planned Community of Houston

The Woodlands, located 32 miles north of Houston is known as a place where people live in harmony with nature. It is built within the forest and is a residential, commercial and environmentally viable community.

Overview

In a forest that once provided timber for the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Company, The Woodlands was born. Located 32 miles north of Houston along Interstate 45, this area is known as a place where people live in harmony with nature. This forested refuge stands as a testament to founder George P. Mitchell’s vision of a residential, commercial and environmentally viable community. Designed throughout the 1960s and 1970s, The Woodlands still sets the standard for a truly master-planned community. It boasts 6,000 acres of preserved green space with plans for a total of 8,000 acres when completed, offers loft living, golf course estates, lakeside abodes and neighborhood living amid a village lifestyle.

Residential History

The Woodlands was dedicated by George P. Mitchell in 1974, managed by The Woodlands Corporation as an extension of Mitchell Energy & Development. Mitchell, an oil businessman, planned to establish a conference center, hotels, office parks, retail malls, schools, large distribution centers, and golf courses. House offerings range from affordable urban settings to exclusive gated communities within a variety of neighborhoods featuring edgy lofts and brownstones to five and six-bedroom family homes and estates. A wide range of pricing offers everyone the opportunity to create a home in The Woodlands. Plus, each village enjoys easy access to the many parks, playgrounds, schools, religious congregations and shopping. Trails and pathways connect many of the amenities found in the villages nestled among beautiful homes and towering trees. Though The Woodlands began as a suburban development and a bedroom community, its plans also included attracting corporations to the area. The area now features several corporate campuses, including Chevron Phillips, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Baker Hughes, CB&I, McKesson Corporation, Hewitt Associates, Maersk Line, and Safmarine. After a series of sales and acquired interests, The Woodlands was sold to the Howard Hughes Development Corporation in 2011 and remains under its management today.

Shop, Eat, Play

Living in The Woodlands is not only a close-to-nature experience, but it’s also convenient for shopping, dining and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. The area’s numerous options include Town Center, host to a flurry of activity year round including The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival in May, the Red, Hot & Blue Festival in July, the Lighting of the Doves for the holiday season, and Tasting the Town in January. Town Center, with its 1,000 acres of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues is home to the most recognizable icons of The Woodlands, such as The Woodlands Mall, The Woodlands Waterway, Market Street, and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. It includes more than 2,000 hotel rooms, 900 businesses. For those who need an additional dose of nature, there’s the George Mitchell Nature Preserve. Part of the Montgomery County Spring Creek Greenway, which will connect and protect up to 12,000 acres of forest on both sides of Spring Creek, the preserve is located in Creekside Village and covers nearly 1,700 acres. Visitors will find a two-mile main hiking trail loop, three miles of bike trails, natural surface, sustainable tracks by Talon Trails and Bedias Lake paths. The George Mitchell Nature Preserve is a joint project from The Woodlands Development Company, Montgomery County Precinct 3, The Woodlands Township, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Education

From outstanding pre-schools to the Academy for Lifelong Learning for seniors, The Woodlands offers exceptional educational experiences for people of all ages. The Woodlands is located primarily in Montgomery County, Texas, with a small portion landing in Harris County. Most students in the Montgomery County portion of The Woodlands attend schools in the Conroe Independent School District. Children residing in the May Valley neighborhood in Sterling Ridge Village attend schools in the Magnolia Independent School District. Children from the Creekside Park Village in Harris County attend the Tomball Independent School District. For more information on homes in The Woodlands, visit marthaturner.com.