The Woodlands has a little brother
Woodlands Hills will be aimed at first-time buyers, millennials and downsizers
THE strip malls, billboards, churches and chain stores that line Interstate 45 for miles heading north from downtown open into a more natural landscape dominated by pine trees and parkland beyond the bustling neighborhoods in The Woodlands and Conroe.
But as Houston’s population expands and some of the city’s biggest corporations relocate into far-flung suburbs, housing development is increasingly encroaching on this region’s untouched lands.
In the most recent example, a Dallas-based development firm has started construction on what will be a master-planned community of more than 4,500 homes when it’s completed perhaps a decade from now.
“I remember this as old deer huntin’ country,” Conroe Mayor Toby Powell said Wednesday, addressing a small crowd at a groundbreaking ceremony for the project west of I-45 along FM 380. “We’re gonna miss the deer out here, but y’all are going to enjoy them now that you’ll see them at
your doorsteps.”
The Wood lands Hills development will bea pa red-down version of its much bigger brother, The Woodlands. Homes will sell for less than $300,000, a price that no longer exists in The Woodlands for new construction.
Officials with the developer, Howard Hughes Corp., and two mayors who spoke at Wednesday’ s event didn’t mention Hurricane Harvey or flood prevention in their public comments.
In a statement emailed late Wednesday to clarify the property’s exposure to flood risk, the company said: “homesites that builders purchase from us will allow the builders to construct homes at or above the 500-year elevation.” The company would not provide further clarification.
The city of Conroe approved development plans for the project in2016.
Developers are increasingly trying to meet a growing demand for moderately priced housing, analyst David Jarvis said, citing a 45 percent run-up in singlefamily home prices since 2012.
“All Texas markets are permanently more expensive,” said Jarvis, senior vice president with John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
Growth in the area shifted into high gear when Ex xon Mobil Corp. announced it was moving some 10,000 people into the area several years ago. Other companies have since followed.
Just south of the Howard Hughes project, John- son Development Corp. is building is a masterplanned community called Grand Central Park on the old Camp Strake Boy Scout property.
Along Interstate 45, at Loop 336, a wide swath has been cleared for what will be a major shopping district for thecommunity.
“For many years Montgomery County was kind of a bedroom community. People lived here and they worked in Houston,” said Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal. “Now we’re starting to reap the benefits of that commercial and corporate growth which provides job opportunities and to some degree, traffic mitigation because people can live andwork in Montgomery County and they don’t have to drive into Houston.
“In fact, we have more people driving into The Woodlands than driving into Houston.”
Howard Hughes Corp. said about 500 homes near Spring Creek in The Woodlands flooded during Harvey. Otherwise, the company’s local properties, which include Bridgeland, generally fared well, the company said in a recent financial filing.
Less than 3 percent of the homes in Montgomery County flooded in Harvey, compared with 5 percent during a major flood in 1994, Doyal said.
“That tells me the growth is in the right areas,” he said. “This piece of property will drain very well. There’s a lot of topography.”
Doyle said the county’s drainage standards haven’t changed since Harvey.
The new Howard Hughes community is a follow-up to The Woodlands, which is almost out of resi- dential lots.
The 2,000 acres that will make up the community are just a fraction of the size of The Woodlands, where there are more than 45,000 homes, 28,000 acres and a tower-filled commercial district that rivals some cities.
The Woodlands Hills will be mostly residential in nature, with entry-level homes geared toward firsttime buyers, millennials and down sizers.
The first phase of construction will include 192 single-family lots, a model home park and an amenity center.
The project is about a mile west of Interstate 45 along FM 830 in the cities of Conroe and Willis. The property extends to FM 1097 on the north and League Line Road to the south.
The developer said its new project will share the same commitment to environmental preservation as its other local communities.
The Woodlands Hills will have 112 acres of open space, 20 neighborhood parks and a 17-acre “Village Park” with a swimming pool, lazy river, fitness center and events pace.
It will also have more than 9 miles of hike-and-bike trails, as well as bike lanes along the major thoroughfares.
Builders will be announced before the end of the year and the first model homes are expected to open within the first three months of 2018.