The Woodlands Town Center Developments

[TowerSpotter]

Loving the palm trees on the hotel but most importantly the new design.

[pablog]

There seems to be another tower behind it. Does anyone know anything about it?

[wxman]

There seems to be another tower behind it. Does anyone know anything about it?

 

I believe it is the much talked-about condo tower. 

[htownswami]

W Woodlands??? I know...pipe dream...

[bachanon]

more howard hughes "watered down design"; they have no interest in anything appealing....just cashing in on high demand.  the buildings they've thrown up (pun intended) at hughes landing are ugly.  the hotel is no longer curved like the shape of the waterway and it creates a barrier between the waterway and its lower levels.....disgusting waste of what was a grand idea....utter stupidity. the folks in control of finishing out the woodlands have no desire to build on the last forty years of planning, only to cash in.   blech!!!!  the boats passing by will not see people dining or sitting at a cafe, they will see a wall or windows.

[ltlftc]

I hadn't noticed the new pedestrian bridge over the waterway before.

 

By the way, the tower crane for one of the ExxonMobil buildings at Hughes Landing is now up.  Surprisingly, it is not being constructed on the water front.  Rather it is just east of the first Hughes Landing office building.  This makes four cranes currently operating on the northeast corner of Lake Woodlands.  I assume a fifth will be added soon for the second Exxon building.

[bachanon]

From The Woodlands Economic Outlook Conference today:

 

Alex Sutton: Co-President of The Woodlands Development Company

 

10 Waterway Avenue Coming Soon; 22 Stories (Most of us knew this, but information from another speaker may be a key factor)

Waterway Hotel to break ground soon; hotel brand announcement soon to be announced

Hughes Landing Hotel to have retail on first floor; immediate proximity to Hughes Landing Restaurant Row.

Hughes Landing Restaurant Row angled on an East/West axis so that all restaurants face North or South for better afternoon patio dining. Restaurants to include Escalante's, Whiskey Cake, California Pizza Kitchen, Eddie V's.

Hughes Landing includes a regional entertainment venue connected to the hotel.

 

HAIFy Observations to Mr. Sutton and the renderings shown:

-Office buildings at Hughes Landing are not mixed-use; no retail on the first floor like Waterway Square

-Office structures and new Waterway Hotel design appear more institutional, less appealing than designs we saw before Howard Hughes took over.

 

Tim Welbes: President of The Woodlands Development Company

 

The Woodlands has less than a 1 month's supply of single-family housing for anything under 300k.

2014 Projected demand for new homes in the Houston area: 77,006

2014 Projected delivery of new homes: 28,205 

2013 Multi-family development at equilibrium.

 

HAIFy comment: The new home construction industry does not have the capacity to build the amount of homes needed.  To make things more difficult, there is a shortage of laborers.  Used homes will continue to increase or maintain their value for 2014.

 

 

Gil Staley: CEO of The Woodlands Economic Development Partenership

 

The Woodlands has 3 Fortune 500 companies

2 Fortune 250 companies have presented proposals to locate here with median annual salaries 100K/125K; The Woodlands is on the "short list"; the moves would represent 1500 jobs and would "fill up 10 Waterway Avenue".

Major (non-retail) employers in The Woodlands represent 27,400 jobs, 32% of those are energy related.

 

2013 Q4 Office Vacancy Rates for Houston (COSTAR)

 

Central Business District: 10.5%

Greenspoint: 10.3%

Greenway Plaza: 7.6%

Energy Corridor: 1.6%

The Woodlands 4.4%

Galleria: 10.4%

Sugarland: 10.7%

 

HAIFy Observation: The gap between skilled labor and available jobs is growing.  There are thousands of jobs in Houston.  All of the energy companies in The Woodlands are growing.  Chevron Phillips Chemical has outgrown their building on Six Pines.  REPSOL is outgrowing the new space just completed for them and are expanding into another unbuilt building at Research Forest Lakeside. Talisman's Woodlands' office is responsible for finding talent for their Eagle Ford shale project(s).  Anyone with a mind for Math/Science fresh out of college or about to graduate should be contacting energy companies in Houston.  Chevron Phillips Chemical is investing over $6 billion in plants at Cedar Bayou and near Lake Jackson; many jobs will earn 60-85K with certain two-year certifications from a junior college.

[Houston19514]

From The Woodlands Economic Outlook Conference today:

 

Gil Staley: CEO of The Woodlands Economic Development Partenership

 

The Woodlands has 3 Fortune 500 companies

2 Fortune 250 companies have presented proposals to locate here with median annual salaries 100K/125K; The Woodlands is on the "short list"; the moves would represent 1500 jobs and would "fill up 10 Waterway Avenue".

Major (non-retail) employers in The Woodlands represent 27,400 jobs, 32% of those are energy related.

 

2013 Q4 Office Vacancy Rates for Houston (COSTAR)

 

Central Business District: 10.5%

Greenspoint: 10.3%

Greenway Plaza: 7.6%

Energy Corridor: 1.6%

The Woodlands 4.4%

Galleria: 10.4%

Sugarland: 10.7%

 

HAIFy Observation: The gap between skilled labor and available jobs is growing.  There are thousands of jobs in Houston.  All of the energy companies in The Woodlands are growing.  Chevron Phillips Chemical has outgrown their building on Six Pines.  REPSOL is outgrowing the new space just completed for them and are expanding into another unbuilt building at Research Forest Lakeside. Talisman's Woodlands' office is responsible for finding talent for their Eagle Ford shale project(s).  Anyone with a mind for Math/Science fresh out of college or about to graduate should be contacting energy companies in Houston.  Chevron Phillips Chemical is investing over $6 billion in plants at Cedar Bayou and near Lake Jackson; many jobs will earn 60-85K with certain two-year certifications from a junior college.

 

The Woodlands has 3 Fortune 500 companies??? 

 

1. Anadarko

2.??

3.??

 

[bachanon]

The Woodlands has 3 Fortune 500 companies??? 

 

1. Anadarko

2.??

3.??

 

 

I'm sure he was talking about ExxonMobil and Chevron Phillips Chemical, not based on where headquarters are located.  And before someone says that ExxonMobil is not in The Woodlands, after hearing hearing Bob Davis, Senior Advisor of ExxonMobil Corporation, speak at lunch today, they are here because of The Woodlands and built here to be close to The Woodlands as possible.  He lives in The Woodlands too, by the way.  Davis gave kudos to George Mitchell for changing the industry.

 

I forgot to add my notes from Ron Corn, Senior VP of Specialties, Aromatics, and Styrenics at Chevron Phillips Chemical.  They are growing rapidly.

 

Huntsman Corporation?

 

I wish he would have specified, now.  As an economic development guy he may be prone to exaggeration. Or.....did he say something he shouldn't have?  

 

 

Good times.....good times.............

[wxman]

Is this 10 Waterway?

[Houston19514]

I'm sure he was talking about ExxonMobil and Chevron Phillips Chemical, not based on where headquarters are located.  And before someone says that ExxonMobil is not in The Woodlands, after hearing hearing Bob Davis, Senior Advisor of ExxonMobil Corporation, speak at lunch today, they are here because of The Woodlands and built here to be close to The Woodlands as possible.  He lives in The Woodlands too, by the way.  Davis gave kudos to George Mitchell for changing the industry.

 

I forgot to add my notes from Ron Corn, Senior VP of Specialties, Aromatics, and Styrenics at Chevron Phillips Chemical.  They are growing rapidly.

 

Huntsman Corporation?

 

I wish he would have specified, now.  As an economic development guy he may be prone to exaggeration. Or.....did he say something he shouldn't have?  

 

 

Good times.....good times.............

 

If he was referring to companies with just a presence (and not headquarters) in The Woodlands, he understated reality:

 

1. Anadarko

2. Exxon Mobil

3. Baker Hughes

4. Huntsman

5. Entergy

and others

 

I think he plainly misspoke.  Perhaps he was already counting the "2 Fortune 250 companies [that] have presented proposals to locate" in The Woodlands.

 

[citykid09]

This might be a dumb question, but how far is Hughes Landing from the Woodlands Town Square area?

[lockmat]

This might be a dumb question, but how far is Hughes Landing from the Woodlands Town Square area?

I think about 2-3 miles

[bachanon]

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/24+Waterway+Ave,+The+Woodlands,+TX+77380/One+Hughes+Landing,+The+Woodlands,+TX+77380/@30.1661551,-95.46874,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x864736bf8516d9e9:0xa6a98c0919cc17e5!2m2!1d-95.4585749!2d30.1607867!1m5!1m1!1s0x864736ce2e6a1433:0x97dcfd50d599cb51!2m2!1d-95.470322!2d30.171505?hl=en

 

1.2 miles from 24 waterway to one hughes landing.......15-20 minute walk (about the same distance as that between hobby center for the performing arts and minute maid park)

 

hughes landing is .5 to .8 miles from market street.  it essentially bookends what is becoming downtown woodlands. (about the same distance between minute maid park and market square park)

 

 

[bachanon]

http://www.elkus-manfredi.com/project/the-woodlands/

 

i think this is old, but it is the first time i've seen a plan for expansion of the woodlands mall's outdoor space....it extends from i-45 to six pines in between the mall ring road and the existing mall.

[wxman]

http://www.elkus-manfredi.com/project/the-woodlands/

 

i think this is old, but it is the first time i've seen a plan for expansion of the woodlands mall's outdoor space....it extends from i-45 to six pines in between the mall ring road and the existing mall.

 

Wow, and another big high rise, too! It's about time The Woodlands Mall caught on to what other malls in Dallas and even locally at Memorial City already do and that's put parking garages in. The mall parking in The Woodlands is pitiful and that's being polite.

[bachanon]

several cranes are up in the hughes landing, research forest lakeside, cb&i area (6 or 7).  10 waterway ave and waterway square hotel soon to break ground.

[Urbannizer]

New hotel breaks ground next week:

 

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-real-estate/houston/1435-the-woodlands-development-boom/

[bachanon]

trolley service to be expanded to hughes landing in the next 18 months; they are considering trolley routes to exxonmobil (and all of the village shopping centers but not mentioned in this story): http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/the-woodlands/township-considering-expanding-trolley-service/

[bachanon]

the woodlands demographics: 

 

http://174.129.209.89/pdfs/WDL/WDL-04-2014-Demographics.pdf

[mollusk]

Here's some more... http://www.areavibes.com/the+woodlands-tx/demographics/

 

Whiter than Wonder Bread.

[bachanon]

Here's some more... http://www.areavibes.com/the+woodlands-tx/demographics/

 

Whiter than Wonder Bread.

 

you wouldn't think that hanging out around town center.  around waterway square, i hear japanese and spanish on the elevator every week.  at the mall and market street, i hear different languages everywhere; maybe it's tourists or business travelers.  the woodlands, houston in general, is very international.  i think it's limiting to break it down to skin color.

[mollusk]

OK, how about more homogeneous than a half gallon of Borden's?  By income stats, by place of birth, by any measure, The Woodlands is far less diverse than Houston as a whole.  Even the boosterish first chart showed that, albeit to a lesser extent.

[bachanon]

 

the hotel is going to be a westin hotel: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2014/02/new-luxury-hotel-coming-to-the-woodlands.html

[ChannelTwoNews]

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-real-estate/houston/2611-the-deal-sheet/

 

 

 

Starwood Hotels & Resorts and The Howard Hughes Corp broke ground on the Westin Woodlands at Waterway Square. The 13-story property, which totals 247k SF and includes 302 rooms, will deliver by the end of 2015. Pictured: Howard Hughes' Peter Doyle, Coy McKinney, Eric Rabel, and Mitch Gruberg with JE Dunn's Charlie Holliday, JE Dunn's Jason LeBlanc, Gensler's Jessie Palacios, and Thompson Co's Jerry Basconi

 

[wxman]

Found this to be an interesting tidbit. Are they referring to Exxon or a new, upcoming corporation? The new Anadarko tower?

 

The vision of the late George P. Mitchell, the founder of The Woodlands, has come to fruition. In the last few decades, families and young professionals have flocked to the 28,000 forested acres for a master-planned community that houses high-end retail shops, diverse restaurants and -- soon to come -- massive corporations.

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/article/The-Woodlands-then-and-now-5751533.php

 

Btw, does anybody have a subscription to the chronicle? I'd like to read the article on the $1.5 billion dollar study on south Montgomery County...

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Study-1-5-billion-needed-to-ease-congestion-in-5764802.php

[arndthwrld82]

Btw, does anybody have a subscription to the chronicle? I'd like to read the article on the $1.5 billion dollar study on south Montgomery County...

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Study-1-5-billion-needed-to-ease-congestion-in-5764802.php

 

 

Highlight the title on the webpage, right-click, select "search Google for...", then click on the article in the search results and it will open with the entire article available to read.

 

Or copy the selection and paste it into Google's search bar then you should be able to read it after you select it from the search results.

Edited September 22, 2014 by arndthwrld82

[Houston19514]

Found this to be an interesting tidbit. Are they referring to Exxon or a new, upcoming corporation? The new Anadarko tower?

 

The vision of the late George P. Mitchell, the founder of The Woodlands, has come to fruition. In the last few decades, families and young professionals have flocked to the 28,000 forested acres for a master-planned community that houses high-end retail shops, diverse restaurants and -- soon to come -- massive corporations.

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/article/The-Woodlands-then-and-now-5751533.php

 

Btw, does anybody have a subscription to the chronicle? I'd like to read the article on the $1.5 billion dollar study on south Montgomery County...

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Study-1-5-billion-needed-to-ease-congestion-in-5764802.php

 

Some Woodlands Chamber of Commerce types have hinted about some additional major corporations that are looking at relocating or will be announcing a relocation or some such;  But the hints have been mixed in with misstatements about the number of Fortune 500 companies currently located in The Woodlands, so it's a little hard to take it too seriously. 

 

But The Woodlands is obviously attractive, so who knows?

[wxman]

Saw on SP that an announcement for Anadarko lll is imminent. Anybody have the scoup?

[Muralpainter]

Here's some more... http://www.areavibes.com/the+woodlands-tx/demographics/

 

Whiter than Wonder Bread.

 

The Mestizo population of Mexico is considered Caucasian, as with a large of the population of Europe. Caucasian does not exclusively mean white American.

[bachanon]

Thank you Muralpainter!  So many different languages heard in The Woodlands...on a regular basis.  Mostly Spanish, but at my office, I hear Japanese in the elevator quite often, and Vietnamese, Arabic, frequently in restaurants.  As much as people would like to paint The Woodlands white, it is diverse; it's diversity is absent a significant African-American population.  Essentially, when people try to say The Woodlands is all white, all that really means is that there is a small percentage of African-Americans represented; thankfully, that is changing.  The less fake blondes we see around here the happier I'll be (no offense fake blondes, I just prefer your natural color...even if it's gray).

 

I recently had a meal with an Anadarko employee and mentioned the buzz about tower three; there was an awkward moment before they said they heard it was a possibility.  I think I read "surprise" on their face that I knew.  Maybe I'm reading more into it than I should; my inner voice shouted "I KNEW IT!". I relish the moments when a split second of hesitation reveals that someone is holding their tongue, refraining from reaction.    Time will tell.

[bachanon]

...second blank face hesitation from non-anadarko employee in development community. something is afoot with anadarko.

[arche_757]

^If true, I'd like to see them change things up a bit with tower 3.  Hire a different firm to do the design.

[wxman]

...second blank face hesitation from non-anadarko employee in development community. something is afoot with anadarko.

 

I don't think this is as big of a secret as you guys are making it out to be. There was a tidbit in the Chron about how Anadarko has space for another 600,000 sq. ft. tower in the near future. Trying to find the article now.

 

Here it is!

 

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2014/04/anadarko-campus-in-the-woodlands-could-grow-again/#13441101=0

Edited October 9, 2014 by wxman

[bachanon]

I don't think this is as big of a secret as you guys are making it out to be. There was a tidbit in the Chron about how Anadarko has space for another 600,000 sq. ft. tower in the near future. Trying to find the article now.

 

Here it is!

 

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2014/04/anadarko-campus-in-the-woodlands-could-grow-again/#13441101=0

 

it's not that it's a secret, it's the timing.  it may not be too far in the future, although the word in anadarko is that they haven't filled up the new building yet.  everyone know's they own the land for future expansion.  a third tower this soon after the second tower is big news.  maybe the third tower is only necessary if certain deals or mergers go through; who knows.  a tower announcement coming sooner rather than later is what the excitement is about, not whether or not a tower will be built in the future.

 

the tower that is supposed to be a condo on waterway square, next to the westin hotel under construction, may be rental rather than condo.  it sounds as if they are ready to build it but cannot build it while the hotel is under construction.  i was complaining in the elevator at 24 waterway about howard hughes focusing development at hughes landing and taking resources away from the waterway square area; unfortunately for me, a woodlands development company land surveyor was in the elevator.  i learned that my dismay with howard hughes focusing on hughes landing is not about howard hughes at all, but a logistical matter; they simply cannot build fast enough for the demand and building around the waterway square area and the eastern superblock is limited due to traffic concerns, space for setup, and the capacity of available construction resources (i've assumed, perhaps wrongly, that HH altered development plans since they took over).

it sounds as if they are buidling as fast as they can to capture demand, while they can; this could explain the less appealing designs and less focused area development as before.

[ltlftc]

The tower crane is up for Three Hughes Landing, a 12 story office building.  This will be the fifth office building in the development (One and Two are 8 stories each and the two ExxonMobil buildings are 12 stories each. 

[citykid09]

Can't wait to see how The Woodlands skyline eventually shapes up. I think it will impress a lot of people coming in from Dallas on I-45 (Even people from Houston or other places).

The Woodlands is becoming to Houston what Bellevue, Washington is to Seattle.

Edited October 19, 2014 by citykid09

[bachanon]

The tower crane is up for Three Hughes Landing, a 12 story office building. This will be the fifth office building in the development (One and Two are 8 stories each and the two ExxonMobil buildings are 12 stories each.

..ummm the two 12 story Hughes Landing buildings are already topped out. There are four up; they announced the Embassy Suites recently. ..maybe that's the new crane?

[Fortune]

..ummm the two 12 story Hughes Landing buildings are already topped out. There are four up; they announced the Embassy Suites recently. ..maybe that's the new crane?

He is talking about Three Hughes Landing another 12 story office building to go up in Hughes Landing, not the two built for Exxon. This building will front the lake like One & Two Hughes Landing. It's the 5th office building to go up.

http://www.thewoodlands-commercial.com/pdf/TW_ThreeHL_SalesSheet_SinglePages.pdf

[bachanon]

I thought the two ExxonMobil buildings were also "Hughes Landing" numbered buildings. I see the brochures now. Thanks.

They are all terribly ugly; at minimum mundane. What a wasted opportunity of location and setting.

[Luminare]

Most of Hugh's Landing has been pretty disappointing...The Woodlands in general has been. They are in a wholesale identity crisis and it shows in their architecture. It's way to safe. They don't know if they want to be urban or suburban. Houston or no-Houston.

 

As for the Anadarko Tower 3 talk. My brother works for them and I remember him talking once about there maybe being another tower on the way.

 

The Woodlands as a whole though really needs some visionary leadership to steer it in a proper direction, because like the leadership of most cities right now this current generation of leadership just doesn't know what to do or where to go.

[ltlftc]

The crane for the 9-story Embassy Suites at Hughes Landing went up this weekend.

 

[urban909]

Picture of the Westin Woodlands at Waterway Square (10/25):

[bachanon]

...it looks like someone has been in front my office building.  i think they are up to the fourth floor now.

[bachanon]

The Ferrari sign is up on Lake Robbins.

[Urbannizer]

1/15 by Shadow11 on SSP

 

 

 

[Urbannizer]

Here's the new design for the condo tower:

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Growth-brings-new-housing-options-to-The-Woodlands-6020252.php#photo-7395179

 

 

 

 

In addition, the Howard Hughes Corp., parent of The Woodlands Development Co., is investigating a possible new 20-story high-rise condominium development in the Waterway District, said Paul Layne, executive vice president of master planned communities for The Howard Hughes Corp.

[Luminare]

For the woodlands, not bad at all. Materials are nice, and it's pretty sleek.

[bachanon]

i like this design better than past renderings...howard hughes has been downgrading design and putting up extremely boring buildings; hopefully, this signals a turn for more tasteful architecture.

 

you would think that with the jewel that is the woodlands, cutting edge architecture and engineering would be common.  i guess that doesn't happen with a developer in control rather than private entities who want to stand out.

 

fingers crossed that the rending looks as good as the finished product (and that it actually gets built).  gil staley of the woodlands area economic development partnership recently stated that two fortune 200 companies, both energy related, dropped their bids to relocate to the woodlands.  this may signal a cooling off period.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2015/01/the-woodlands-loses-bids-for-two-fortune-200.html?page=all 

[placoors]

Crews to install a pedestrian bridge over the Woodlands Waterway:

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Crews-to-install-pedestrian-bridge-over-Woodlands-6085697.php