The Woodlands Edition | May 2025

Paving the way From the cover

The big picture

The road to redevelopment

The Robinson Road realignment project has been underway since 2023 and faced a number of delays due to utility relocations and inclement weather. However, ocials said the project is set to wrap up by the end of May, opening the door for work on the new Plaza District area downtown to nally begin. The city has partnered with Houston-based rm Identity Architects and marketing rm the Blue Ox Group to begin work for the proposed Plaza District area. “The intersection’s long-awaited improvements, coupled with Oak Ridge North’s new pro-development stance, means that the stage is set and demand is about to surge,” said Jack Savery, land and leasing specialist at The Blue Ox Group. The Plaza District will be a redeveloped area along the intersection of Robinson and Hanna roads, and it will include multiple retail centers, a new city hall and professional oces. The realignment project was originally planned to address bottleneck trac issues along the intersection of Robinson and Hanna roads, which—according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation— has seen steady annual average daily trac growth along the roadway. “Everybody comes through Robinson [Road],” Neeley said. “We’ve got 25,000 cars coming through every day.” The most recent numbers from TxDOT for annual average daily trac on Robinson Road show it has increased from 15,258 vehicles in 2020 to 22,298 at the intersection with I-45 as of 2023. At Hanna Road, it has increased from 12,356 to 18,777 vehicles daily, as of 2023. Meanwhile, work on the railroad crossing needed to complete the Robinson Road project was pushed back to late May, ocials said. This will shift the point of crossing for the railroad tracks along Hanna Road. Additional work such as installing railroad crossing guards and lights will be scheduled at a later date, Neeley said. Among other projects taking root in the area in response to the Robinson Road realignment, Newman Commercial Real Estate is also developing a 100,000-square- foot multipurpose space along the west side of southbound Robinson Road, CEO Nate Newman said.

Average daily trac along Robinson Road

I-45

Hanna Road

22,298

20,537

20,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0

18,728

15,258

18,877

13,356

12,873

11,703

2020

2021

2022

2023

Realigning Robinson Road

Current roadway

Planned alignment

INDUSTRIAL WAY

ROBINSON RD.

Plaza District plans The reimagined area is set to include small shopping, dining and gathering spaces for residents.

Oak Ridge North Plaza District

Phase 1 Phase 2

Downtown Plaza District

RENDERING COURTESY IDENTITY ARCHITECTS

1 Retail 1: 18,780 square feet Shopping centers • Coee shops • Fast casual dining 2 Retail 2: 4,800 square feet Fast casual dining • Small shopping 3 City warehouse space: • Existing redevelopment 1: 7,500 square feet • Existing redevelopment 2: 3,200 square feet 4 New City Hall (2-story oce space): 10,000 square feet

Administrative oces • Municipal court Council chambers • Community center

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM