New Caney - Porter | October 2025

Business is booming From the cover

At a glance

FM 1314 business updates

Coming soon 15 Caldwell Co. retail center • Opening: TBD 16 Porter Retail • Opening: summer or fall of 2026 17 Territory at Porter • Opening: TBD 18 Wae House • Opening: January 2026

Nearby housing has drawn new businesses to open along the corridor, said Kelley Mattlage, vice president/chief communications ocer for the East Montgomery County Improvement District, via a Sept. 29 email. One example is The Highlands, a 2,300-acre master-planned community located near the intersection of FM 1314 and the Grand Parkway in Porter. “When you’ve got new subdivisions going in, especially as large as The Highlands, those residents will want their grocery stores, gas stations, shopping and dining options to be nearby,” Mattlage said. The Highlands was developed by Caldwell Companies, which began selling homes in the community in 2021, Caldwell President Peter Barnhart said Oct. 8. About 1,000 homes have been sold in the community since it opened. “When you build lots of rooftops, there’s lots of other people that want to follow on the trail, whether it’s ... business owners, restaurants [or] retail services,” Barnhart said. Another factor drawing business owners and developers to the corridor is Grand Parkway access, which makes amenities across Houston, such as George Bush Intercontinental Airport, more accessible, Barnhart said.

99 TOLL

4 3

19 Go Lilee Greens • Opening: fall 2025 20 Fuel Maxx • Opening: June 2026

CUMBERLAND BLVD.

The Highlands

Now open

1 Sakura Bistro 2 Taco Bell 3 Uncle Tony’s Cafe 4 La Quesadilla Sabrosa Y Ma 5 AJ Morales Insurance 6 Cinco Vidas Coee Company 7 Ivy Coee Co. 8 Birria Box 9 Taqueria La Indomable 10 Lunas Coee & Tea 11 Final Gravity Brewpub

8 11 14

1314

494

7 9

VALLEY RANCH PKWY.

12 Vemex Locksmith 13 The Elotito Stop 14 Blue Jay's Cauldron

SOURCES: INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES, EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Annual trac counts

Growing challenges

Another viewpoint

FM 1314 at Hwy. 59 intersection FM 1314 at Sorters Road intersection FM 1314 at Grand Parkway intersection

Porter resident Lucy Cervantes has lived in the area for almost 22 years, and she said while the FM 1314 corridor has continued to grow, so has trac. “To get anywhere, we have to make sure we leave earlier due to trac,” Cervantes said. From 2014-24, trac along FM 1314—where the corridor intersects with the Grand Parkway—rose 35%, according to annual trac counts from the Texas Department of Transportation. Trac can both draw development and be worsened by it, Linabury said. “With that many new households, that many new vehicles ... that brings more trac, but again, the trac counts are what the developers look at,” Linabury added. In January 2024, TxDOT launched an FM 1314 access management study to assess whether trac improvement projects were needed along a 12-mile segment of FM 1314 between Hwy. 242 and Loop 494 in Porter. However, no projects were created from that study, said Leo Flores, TxDOT’s West Harris/Montgomery public information ocer, via an Oct. 2 email.

In September, near the intersection of FM 1314 and the Grand Parkway, construction began on Territory at Porter, a 342-unit apartment complex being developed by Dhanani Private Equity Group. Dhanani Principal Faiz Hirani said he and his part- ners saw few multifamily housing options in Porter, which motivated them to open an apartment complex in the area. Over the next decade, this dynamic is projected to continue, with single-family housing to make up 66.7% of new housing within New Caney ISD’s boundaries, according to a March 17 report from demographics rm Population and Survey Analysts. Meanwhile, Jeremy Miller said one reason he chose to launch Blue Jay’s Cauldron—a game store that opened in June—along FM 1314 in Porter was due to nearby housing. “I’m trying to be a family-focused, com- munity-friendly, local game store. … I would like to think that overall, we’re increasing the overall vibe of the community,” Miller said.

35,813

40K

35,118

32,776

24,987

25,600

30K

18,585

20K

11,037

8,491

7,666

10K

2021

2022 2023 2024

2020

Porter population change

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2018

34,781

36,755

34,286

36,802

39,385

43,025

SOURCES: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU 2018 AND 2023 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 5YEAR ESTIMATESCOMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: POPULATION DATA IS SHOWN FOR THE 77365 ZIP CODE, WHICH COVERS PORTER.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM