New homes, new hurdles From the cover
The full story
Conroe, Montgomery housing developments
77 22
3,000 17
592 18
The Conroe and Montgomery area is experiencing a surge in single-family residential developments as more people move north from Houston and Harris County, Conroe Mayor Duke Coon said. “Montgomery County and the city of Conroe [are] well known for the lake ... but also the sense of security and safety,” Coon said. Communities such as Cielo, Chapel Run, The Woodlands Hills and Two Step Farm represent a wide spectrum of affordability, with houses ranging from $250,000 to $1 million and amenities such as walking trails, developers said. Two Step Farm alone is expected to bring at least 4,000 homes over the next decade, said Tom Woliver, co-president of Oxland Group. “Montgomery is unfolding as western Montgomery County’s emerging hub of growth,” Montgomery Mayor Sara Countryman said. But development faces challenges. Conroe’s temporary development moratorium on the northern portion of the city, enacted last August, paused activity in some communities due to infrastructure limits, per prior reporting. The last section in Chapel Run has been stalled because of the city’s moratorium, said Jeff Dewese, senior vice president of land development at The Signorelli Co. The Conroe portion of The Woodlands Hills is also affected by the moratorium, and in a statement, a Howard Hughes spokesperson said the company is prioritizing building out the Willis portion in the meantime. In the eight ZIP codes that make up Community Impact ’s coverage area, the population rose 23.2% from 2018-23, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Coon said cities must plan for future infrastructure to match the pace of development.
38 15
Willis
592 20
1097
295 21
Montgomery
4,500 10
100 24
LAKE CONROE
800+ 13
67 8
615 23
3,500 6
50 11
600+ 14
149
336
340 16
600 26
1,000 19
3,600 2 900 3
63 27
557 25
Conroe
5,200 4
105
4,000+ 5
LAKE CREEK
45
1,300 12
11,000 1
FISH CREEK THOROUGHFARE
2,000 9
1488
6,500 7
242
Magnolia
WEST FORK SAN JACINTO RIVER
1314
The Woodlands
249
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
Number of homes or lots at full build-out
Developments 1-99
100-999
1,000-4,999
5,000+
1 Colton 2 Kresston 3 High Meadow West 4 Woodforest 5 Two Step Farm 6 Silverthorne 7 Artavia
8 Summer Place 9 Evergreen 10 The Woodlands Hills 11 Lake Creek Ranch 12 Granger Pines 13 Cielo 14 Chapel Run
15 Bentwood Farms 16 Clopton Farms 17 Chambers Creek 18 William Trails 19 Wildtree 20 Castle’s Edge 21 McCrorey Trails
22 Lake Conroe Cove 23 Saddle Village 24 Williams Reserve East 25 Baron Village 26 Meadow Park 27 Lake Creek Estates
SOURCE: LOCAL DEVELOPMENTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Plans for growth Conroe
Diving in deeper
Montgomery
Montgomery—which is approximately 40% built-out—is designing Water Well No. 5 and Water Plant No. 4, while also coordinating with the Texas Department of Transportation and county officials to align road projects. “We’re not just reacting—we’re proactively planning,” Countryman said. Montgomery also adopted its Downtown Comprehensive Plan in 2020 and hasn’t stopped planning since, Countryman said. “Our deliberate development ensures that growth complements our long-term sustain- ability goals,” Countryman said.
Conroe’s growth prompted city leaders to examine infrastructure capacity more closely. On June 26, council members approved $549,500 for a study on implementing impact fees to fund infrastructure, which takes 16-18 months to complete before implementation. Coon said the city is also looking into plan- ning sewer upgrades and public safety expan- sions, including a new fire station in southeast Conroe, projected to cost $4.2 million. He said without adequate infrastructure, cities risk overextending services. Meanwhile, Countryman said
Planning Fire Station No. 8
In design phase for Water Plant No. 4 and Water Well No. 5
Working on comprehensive water study
Working on city plans including future land use planning, mobility strategy and ordinances
Looking into sewer infrastructure planning
SOURCE: CITIES OF CONROE, MONTGOMERY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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