The Woodlands Edition | May 2025

Development

BY VANESSA HOLT, NICHAELA SHAHEEN & JESSICA SHORTEN

A stretch of Hwy. 242 near I-45 is transforming, with new businesses opening in the area, residential developments underway and an infrastructure project on the horizon. Since 2023, over a dozen businesses have opened within a 1-mile radius of Hwy. 242, along with four residential developments underway in the area. “Our entire county is growing, and that corridor along [Hwy.] 242 is no dierent,” Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said. “It’s just an easy place to develop. … You’ve access to two major highways or interstates and all the great amenities right there.” Aaron Cox, president and CEO of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, said these and other factors make it a growing focus for business. “That is a critical hub in our area and very important to The Woodlands, to Conroe and to Magnolia and greater Montgomery County particularly because of where it sits,” Cox said. “Our major medical facilities are there along with the other businesses that are going up [and the] housing developments that are going up east of I-45.” Hwy. 242 aected by developments

Hwy. 242 development 2023 openings 1 Sunrise Donuts 2 Freebirds World Burrito 3 AT&T 4 Jersey Mike’s Subs 5 Dunkin’ 6 Thrive Massage 7 Jeremiah’s Italian Ice 8 Whataburger

2024 openings 9 Pet Supplies Plus 10 Pincho Burgers and Kebabs 11 Pizza Twist 12 Dental Care of Woodloch 13 Tailgator’s Pub & Grill 14 Memorial Hermann-GoHealth Urgent Care 15 Next Level Urgent Care 16 Chipotle

2025 openings 17 Silver Spoons 18 Beans & Berries 19 Zuka Head Spa

Residential developments

THIS MAP IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE.

Evergreen by Shea Homes: 740 acres

Mavera by Pulte Development: 1,100 acres

242

Artavia by Airia Development: 2,842 acres

13 FIREHOUSE RD.

7 15 17

Harper’s Preserve by Sam Yager Incorporated: 160 acres

242

2 6

3 4 9 10 11

SOURCES: LOCAL BUSINESSES, SHEA HOMES, AIRIA DEVELOPMENT, SAM YAGER INCORPORATED, PULTE DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Zooming out

What’s being done?

Local population growth

77385

Montgomery County is one of the fastest-grow- ing counties in Texas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Between 2018-23, Montgomery County’s population grew 18%, from 554,445 to 654,722 residents, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. In response to added trac caused by this growth, last June, Montgomery County commis- sioners approved a $19.1 million agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to build an eastbound yover at Hwy. 242, connecting I-45 North to Hwy. 242. Gray said the project, expected to nish by 2028, aims to ease local trac congestion. Ocials with the city of Shenandoah, which extends to areas east of I-45 and south of Hwy. 242, said this and other improvements will help ease trac concerns in the corridor. “The addition of the eastbound yover will help those growing areas east of I-45,” Shenandoah City Manager Kathie Reyer said.

Other projects to address connectivity and trac ow along the I-45 and Hwy. 242 corridor include expanding David Memorial Drive in Shenandoah, which voters approved as part of the May 3 bond in Montgomery County. “Completing David Memorial [Drive], that will be signi cant in easing some of the congestion in that immediate area,” Cox said. “In terms of mobility, our ability to move people and products safely and eectively, that is what our goal is for our business community.” Reyer said the connection could also bene t emergency responders at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, located at I-45 and Hwy. 242. “Currently trac backs up on the northbound I-45 service road,” she said. “This is a problem for patients and emergency vehicles.”

EXXON RD.

242

DONWICK DR.

Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital

DAVID MEMORIAL DR.

25,572

2018

26,889

+5.2%

2023

Between 2018-23, the annual average daily trac on Hwy. 242 increased:

+12.8% +30.8% West of Donwick Drive West of Exxon Road

SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU’S AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 5£YEAR ESTIMATES, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION¥COMMUNITY IMPACT

THE WOODLANDS EDITION