BY VANESSA HOLT & JESSICA SHORTEN
A long time coming
The timeline
Elizabeth Cunningham, daughter of the late Bruce Cunningham, a former president of Grogan’s Mill Village Association and namesake for one of the new community center rooms, said she believes the project completes what her father had hoped to see come to fruition. “[It had] become like a dead space, and that shopping center was not [the] destination that it used to be,” Elizabeth Cunningham said. “And he spent a good—I don’t know how many years calling every supermarket chain in America trying to come in and ll that [grocery store].” While the center was initially deed-restricted to house a grocery store anchor, that requirement was waived as part of the land swap deal, Community Impact previously reported. “Years of attempts, both by the previous owner and us to bring a grocer to the center were unsuc- cessful, but we knew that there needed to be an anchor to bring trac in order to support the other retailers and restaurants there,” said Jim Carman,
president of the Houston region of Howard Hughes. As outlined in the land swap deal, the county took ownership of the new facility and 7.8 acres of land at the Grogan’s Mill Village Center, with an estimated total value of over $30 million, county ocials said. The project, which cost $16.5 million, included renovating the library and community center, as well as revitalizing the rest of the retail center and building a new clock tower, according to previous reporting. Howard Hughes picked up the 5.72 acres occu- pied by the former library and community center on Lake Robbins Drive as part of the deal. “We were concerned … about the vacancy and really the lack of investment being made in its upkeep,” Carman said. “As developers and stewards of this community, we hope that by improving the village center, that it would be exciting for our residents and business owners. And so we got involved in 2023, and now we’re excited to see it all come together.” that as of early August, the study’s results were not yet available. As for the future of the Lake Robbins Drive site where the library was previously located, Howard Hughes ocials were not able to comment in July. “We’re focused on completing [the] new project at Grogan’s Mill Village Center, and we aren’t currently working on any plans for the other [Lake Robbins Drive] site, so it’s very much something that we’ll study in the future, but not something that we’re focused on right now,” Carman said.
Feb.15, 2020: Randalls store closes
2020
Sept. 26, 2023: Land swap deal approved by
Montgomery County Commissioners Court July 15, 2024: Work on the library and community center begins June 25, 2025: Retail center grand opening held July 15, 2025: Montgomery County commissioners approve appraisals needed for land exchange July 26, 2025: South Montgomery County Library closes to the public Aug. 20, 2025: New library unveiled at VIP event Sept. 2, 2025: Library and community center will be open to the public
2021
2023
2024
2025
SOURCES: MONTGOMERY COUNTY, HOWARD HUGHES COMMUNITY IMPACT
What’s next?
W
Future additions could include additional park development near the village center. The Woodlands Township board of directors approved a $52,000 work order in February to conduct a feasibility study for a new community park in the area in collaboration with Howard Hughes and Montgomery County. Township Chief Operating Ocer Chris Nunes said
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Former South Regional Library site 2101 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands
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