woody_hawkeye

I looked for any posting on this and did not find it. I have been tracking this for a long time, so I thought I would post an article I wrote this morning based on a news media release from Exxon, past discussions, an employee notice and my experience in the oil industry. It has been a while since I posted here. There is a companion article which was anticipating the announcement. Exxon was aware of the article and several others like it. I asked them for information and they declined, esp since they were about to make it public.

ExxonMobil announces consolidation of upstream and related services to a new campus just south of The Woodlands

I say: NO.

huh? Cannot figure out what you are saying.

Very interesting .. in design, so that is yet another one with sports fields even!

I asked and found out this fell through. There is no such plan now. At tghe same time I asked about the swimming facility and there is no information available if that non-profit organization has made any progress.

Very interesting .. in design, so that is yet another one with sports fields even!

The Research Forest expansion has been on the books as long as Woodlands Parkway. It will be from I45 to Shadowbend. There is another road development project - Kuykendahl to 1488. That will open up traffic from the outside world at another point. Also we have the Kuykendahl widening project at hand. Pass through dollars to the RUD. I have a bunch of stuff on this in the commentary. There are many related issues.

We need an Exxon thread here in this forum. This is part of our area and is very important to all that visit the forum here. I was not aware that there was another discussion, but we need to talk about it here. I totally missed the announcement. What else should we be aware of? The Woodlands expects a heavy impact on housing and hotel development here as a result of this. I h avenoticed a number of commercial lots up for sale lately. We apparently have a buyer for the corner of Kuykendahl and Flintridge. Has anyone seen anything on that?

Nothing at that link. 404 error. There is a new sports complex that I have not researched, ribbon cutting coming up.

I could be wrong on this, but I when I saw this a week or so ago, I concluded it was not Research Forest but some other street with a similar name on the other side of I45. I could not find a Research Forest near Spring Creek anywhere.

TXTiger - good info. I have had an appointment pending to write a story on this. I plan to start with your stuff and do my interview based on that. This has my interest in many ways. I am glad to see someone willing to put up money for information. I am a pauper in that regard. I hope to bring this project to life in words.

A few months ago I took a ride down Matthews Lane and was curious about the extensive gate and brick fencing on the north side. Click for a Google Street View

http://maps.google.c...419+Tory+Ann+Dr,+Magnolia,+Montgomery,+Texas+77354&ll=30.166445,-95.594401&spn=0,0.019784&z=16&layer=c&cbll=30.166465,-95.595523&panoid=49-1s3AUgjg5JOx0W08pvg&cbp=12,1.79,,0,5

I talked to a local resident about the property and he reported it was previously owned by an eccentric millionaire who passed before he could build his mansion. The property was then purchased by The Woodlands and they are currently leasing it as pasture land until they have a need to develop it.

What is at the end of Matthews Rd? I

If you want to promote rapid growth in southwest Montgomery County with forested regular lots, then you'd need to change flood control regulations to require fewer detention ponds. Otherwise, the costs of removing the fill will be prohibitive, developers will spread it around on the ground, increasing the elevation enough that it would kill the trees (if the trees were kept) and you'll witness the same kind of sparsely-forested development as is typical of newer sections of The Woodlands. Never mind the additional burdens on infrastructure and the extra footprint on the forest that that entails.

If your interests are forest preservation, then simply charge a fee for every tree removed, with the fee schedule varying based on the kind of tree, its level of maturity, and its visibility from the road. Then you guys can realize the benefits to the County of estate-sized lots, keep trees, and generate revenue through impact fees. Counties already have the power to do this. Try suggesting it to Judge Sadler the next time you meet him. He's a reasonable man. Give him a reasonable suggestion and see how it goes over.

I will certainly keep that in mind. Sounds like a good idea. That is but one objective but it is my primary concern.

Wonder if a Ruggles Green will make it there. If I want a $11 bisonburger I might go there instead of the bisonburger place at the freeway, for convenience.

Just for more clarity on the subject, the vision is small incremental developments, following a regulated master plan. The great developer no longer exists but the available land does. Growth over the next few decades needs to be managed and the idea of a "woodlands" for lack of a better term, is feasible and likely if it can be managed. It is true that small estates do tend to keep a few trees but those I have visited had few trees and kept the majority of the land for swimming pools, horse areas, barns, etc etc. The main point of the idea is that it will be attractive, just like The Woodlands in that it would be another forested area with a large percentage of green space. One can;t really compare The Woodlands with a modern development except for its values and amenities. Conroe's new initiative will hopefully achieve a similar but smaller goal and within the city for a shorter term vision. Contrasted with the Conroe project, this one is for a much longer period of time. The issue is more in long term investments than if the people and businesses would come to it. There are some interesting ideas that would require legislation to enable such new thinking for forest preservation effort.

The problem is that Navasota--which is what you just described to the tee--is not a profitable (or, I'd argue, successful) urban paradigm.

Seems like the argument used against The Woodlands a couple of decades ago, but clearly well-thought master planning conquers the profitability issue according to those at the H-GAC. Comments I have heard in the past on The Woodlands were like "Too far away from the city, no commercial attractions, a boring place." It could be argued that master planning is a regional issue, not a developers issue. The Woodlands did first attract people who wanted to live in a family environment and secondly or even primarily for many, to live in a natural setting. Commuting was the only means for work at first, but later, commercial interests brought many opportunities for resident employment. Seems there are two alternatives to growth - master planned urban areas or country estates. Much of the development now is in country estates, but that will not last. It eats up taxable space and has a limited appeal and expansion capability. The large ranches and timberlands are the most likely candidates for a large development. It looks to me we are on the cusp of something new that broadens the definition of master planning. There are also some discussion of an eastern county development, but I have not looked at that yet. The dinosaur park etc might bring that into focus. A rainy day project.

I have to agree with Redscare to a large extent, but this would likely be the beginning of an urban area, non-existent and non-competitive with other metropolitan areas, I am assuming. To do that, the area would need to appeal to the outside. It is also further from a major airport, although Conroe will be providing commercial transportation in the future much like Hobby. I see three major highways servicing the place, and it perhaps being a gateway to central and east Texas. For myself, I would think it could compete with The Woodlands for commercial content and amenities, thereby bringing it into a more detached and independent governing locale that what has emerged in The Woodlands. The Woodlands standard is hard to beat but any developer in that area would have an ace of spades if they put strong modern livability thinking into the master plan. Whether surface water or groundwater would be an issue, there is also a question mark. The cost of living should be substantially less there. Putting the thinking cap on, it might be feasible from a totally different angle yet perhaps be able in the long term to "save" the forest there. One way to not encourage such a mega development would be legislation for county controls. That is highly unlikely and so I am speculating on a more likely scenario. I say this but am in the midst of a possible apposing article that sees the growth context going to legislated controls. The reality of small independent developments which keep part of the forest there is the most likely scenario from the financial perspective. I can certainly see the large acreage timberland being a second Woodlands without all the original work assumptions that George had relative to the city of Houston, yet the distance to anything still haunts me, even with the transportation arteries being expanded.

Niche - impressive work! Thanks for such a concise look at it.

A problem surfaced in the construction of the north lanes going west. There is fiber there and they apparently have to move it or shield it, I don't know which. Anyway, that work will not be done until 2010. The southern side that heads east is going to be ready by the end of the year. There have been some surprises at intersections. We have lost a significant number of trees to turn lanes and burial of lines. I am disappointed in the number of trees cut down from the medians. Now, will the county or the development replant trees? I doubt it. We have always had light dispersal issues into adjoining neighborhoods. This work will make that situation worse.

Take photographs if you can.

By 2014, The Woodlands should be pretty well built out. High end homes have slowed down temporarily but lower end homes have started as a response to the economic downturn. That is considered a temporary situation. Homes still sell here.

The ice skating rink will be back in operation at the old location starting this Saturday. Other traditional events like the lighting of the doves will be coming soon (or maybe I missed it). The holiday is celebrated with more events each year but I can;t think of a new one this year. Anyone?

BTW - I heard that Six Flags is shutting down about everything. Are they going out of business?

This place is gaining quite reputation in excellence. We went there last weekend and were told we could get a table in about two hours if we were lucky.

Hmmm. I talked to a guy the other day who wants to move out of his 3000 sq ft home, sell or give away all his furniture and move into a retirement place. There are bunches of homes here in the $400,000's. So they could sell and move into one of these but still have to pay those high taxes and $2000/mo. Maybe there is a market for people right here, Folks who like it here but don't want the upkeep of a large home. meet down at the waterway for happy hour every night. Whipeee!

No, more like 2013/2014

Maybe they are trying to time it with the new parkway? Accessibility will be important to them.