The Woodlands Edition | October 2025

BY VANESSA HOLT

What’s being done

Oering input

While Sprouts will ll about 30,000 square feet at Panther Creek, retail vacancies are increasing in the region, according to recent regional data. Wade Greene, principal and executive vice president at Colliers in Houston, said the grocery sector is in demand in the region’s retail market. However, he said the most in-demand grocery store has been HEB, but the vacant spaces in the village centers are too close to current HEB locations. Several standalone buildings not owned by Regency are also on the outskirts of the village centers, such as a vacant 3,000-square-foot former bank space available for sublease by PNC Bank in Panther Creek, Reynolds said. Eric Fishhaut, president of the Sterling Ridge Village Association, said residents would benet from other types of oerings. “The goal to a center like that is that there needs to be dierent things that attract people and feeds the other,” Fishhaut said. “It would

Recent vacancy trends

“A good anchor tenant is key to the village centers thriving.” SHELLI MORAN, OWNER, CELLAR 24, STERLING RIDGE

Houston region

Montgomery County

5.7%

5.5%

5.2%

4.3%

4.1%

3.9%

Q4 2024 Q1 2025 Q2 2025

“I think the owners of the shopping center can see [how the

SOURCE: COLLIERSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

museum] adds to the foot trac and helps other merchants.” ANGELA COLTON, DIRECTOR, THE WOODLANDS CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, PANTHER CREEK

be great to have some sort of an entertainment venue to attract families.” Greene said a robust anchor is important to keep centers active. “The lack of activation of a [space] can kill a center,” he said.

What to expect

centers, township leaders can still work with private entities toward the goal of lling the spaces. “It’s out of our hands, but what we can do is be a good advocate for our residents and talk with those landlords and the owners of the centers and have that dialogue about what we’re hearing from our residents, and thoughts and ideas of how things could improve,” he said.

request for comment as of press time. A unique approach to village center vacancies unfolded this fall in Grogan’s Mill where a land swap between Montgomery County and Howard Hughes replaced a vacant Randalls with the new Kevin Brady Library and Community Center. Eissler said while the private-public partnership is not likely to be repeated across multiple village

Vacancies at other village centers in The Woodlands include a 9,000-square-foot space occupied by CVS until April 2023 at Cochran’s Crossing, currently under consideration for a Goodwill, according to a ling with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Reynolds said he was not able to discuss the matter, but he said it is expected to go before the DSC in November. Goodwill did not return a

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