Kanga’s comes to Oak Ridge North, city sees surge in kid-friendly businesses
Oak Ridge North is now the home to the first-ever Kanga’s Indoor Play Center and Café to open in the United States.
Kanga’s, which recently opened its doors to the public on Nov. 2, is an Australian-based indoor playground and party venue for kids located at 26803 604 Hanna Road, Suite 601.
Kanga’s Franchise Director Bret Stremski, who was visiting from Australia, said the concept was taken from the popular Lollipop’s Playland and Café, which has 33 locations across Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and now the United States.
Franchisees Castor and Tibi Colman, a married couple from the Spring Trails community in south Montgomery County who have two children, said the 12,000 square-foot playground in Oak Ridge North, which was a concept three years in the making, is the first-ever to make it stateside; and an “exciting, challenging” opportunity.
Featuring a rocking pirate ship, a dedicated toddler playpen, a water slide, a ball pen with up to 20,000 plastic balls that shoot out of play cannons, a rock climbing wall, an inflatable bouncy attraction and a café where parents can lounge and drink cappuccinos while watching their children play, Kanga’s is a place for the whole family, Castor said, adding that the play center also has private rooms for kid parties.
‘A hub for family-friendly businesses’
Oak Ridge North, Castor said, was the perfect location for Kanga’s because it’s right in the middle of a population boom hotspot.
“It’s close to Spring, to The Woodlands and Conroe,” he said. “This area is growing very fast and Oak Ridge North happens to be right there in the middle.” In 2015, Conroe was one of the 13 fastest-growing cities in the United States among cities with more than 50,000 residents, according to a Houston Chronicle report.
And the Hanna Business Section II, which houses Kanga’s, is “becoming a destination facility for families and kids, where people can “come and feel safe,” Castor said.
That’s great news for Oak Ridge North Mayor Jim Kuykendall, who said he’s proud that the city as a whole is gaining a reputation for being a hub for family-friendly businesses.
“It’s a good thing,” Kuykendall said. “We have a lot of great businesses here. It makes Oak Ridge North more of a destination for family activities.”
Heather Neeley, director for Oak Ridge North’s Economic Development, said the city has recently seen a big drive in kid-centered activity type business in the area.
“Oak Ridge North is known as ‘what a hometown should be,’ so it’s easy to see why family-driven businesses would want to call ORN home,” Neeley said in an email. “We have many mom and pop shops, great police security, as well as affordable warehouse space available for lease.”
Oak Ridge North City Manager Vicky Rudy said the children from the city are not the only ones benefitting from the kid-friendly businesses moving into the area.
“It’s all the kids around us,” Rudy said, adding that Oak Ridge North doesn’t have an overly large population of children for the city of about 3,000 residents.
According to 2016 US Census data, people under the age of 18 made up roughly 34 percent of the population in Montgomery County.
‘The future’ for Oak Ridge North
The city boasts multiple martial art studios, such as Cho’s TaeKwonDo Academy’s 6,700 square-foot facility on Robinson Road, which opened in 1992 and offers classes for children as young as 3 years old.
Earlier this year, Obstacle Warrior Kids, an indoor play area for kids based around the hit NBC show ‘American Ninja Warrior’ opened on Spectrum Way and is a huge success in the city, Kuykendall said.
In the past years, the city has seen a revitalization of the AMF bowling alley as Bowlero, which according to its web site is “immersive entertainment at its best.” In 2015, iFly came to Oak Ridge North, which features adult and kid entertainment, Neeley said.
And Space Cadets Collection on Robinson Road, a local comic book store, has garnered national attention since its opening nearly a decade ago.
At the Nov. 8 joint special meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning, the city council voted 4-1 to approve a specific use permit for Emler Swim School to install an indoor swimming pool and provide swimming lessons to young children. The location is off Interstate 45, between the Kirkland’s and the Home Consignment center. Frances Blanchard cast the only no vote.
The biggest issue with allowing the swim school to open, council argued, was that it wouldn’t add sales tax revenues to the city. In the end, the thought of adding more family businesses to the area that could potentially drive foot traffic to the retail center was enough to convince council members who were on the fence, such as City Council Member Clint McClaren.
To further its goal of creating “a friendly economic environment,” the city approved an ordinance to create the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) with the purpose of attracting commercial development within its limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), Kuykendall said.
Deb Capaccioli, a city engineering technician, said the ETJ is roughly 700 acres.
With the TIRZ, the city and Montgomery County would share costs of road construction, infrastructure and water lines.
“That’s the future,” Kuykendall said, referring to the ETJ and the anticipated influx of commercial development. “That’s a big deal for us. It will create a lot of taxes that will help keep our property taxes low.”
For the Fiscal Year 201718, the city fell short from its projected sales tax revenue of just over $2 million. Instead, the city reached about $1.8 million in sales tax revenue. For next year, the city anticipates about $2 million in sales tax revenue.
Earlier this year, when the city passed the budget, it lowered its property tax rate to $44.70 per $100 valuation, lower than the FY2017 tax rate of $45.09.