The Woodlands Edition | August 2023

GOVERNMENT

LAKE WOODLANDS

The waterway includes areas for water recreation and walking.

The Woodlands Waterway terminates at the east end at The Woodlands Mall.

THE WOODLANDS MALL

TRANSFERRING THE WATERWAY Ownership of property totaling 32.49 acres known as The Woodland Waterway was transferred to The Woodlands Township eective July 25. Areas where land transfer occurred The Woodlands Waterway

R I

N G

THE CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL PAVILION

RIVA ROW BOAT HOUSE

THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIPCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Township approves taking ownership of The Woodlands Waterway

BY VANESSA HOLT

meeting, agreements with many con- tractors will be maintained, and the amenities will be factored into the township’s capital reserve program. “This is a very historic item on our agenda and something we have looked forward to for a long time,” said Ann Snyder, chair of The Wood- lands Township board of directors, at the meeting.

transferring the maintenance of the corridor to the township, starting in 2025, Howard Hughes will reduce its annual funding for streetscape enhancements to Town Center from $300,000 to zero through $60,000 annual reductions. In exchange, the township will be granted several parcels of property. This includes a parcel along Spring Creek larger than any other park area in The Wood- lands, Strong said. “The largest park we have in The Woodlands right now is 26 acres; this is 10 times the size of that,” Strong said. The 208-acre tract of land on Gos- ling Road south of the Creekside Park entrance can be used for recreational development, Strong said. The other land parcels include 2.09 acres near the Parks and Recreation Operation Center and a 24.31-acre tract of land near Bear Branch Recreational Facility behind the recycling center. The township will also release rights to a boat house parcel on Lake Robbins and a parcel on Ashlane Way. The township and The Woodlands Land Development Co. will continue to work together on issues such as covenants, including the continued appointment of three development company members to the township’s Development Standards Committee. However, the company will end $300,000 annual contributions toward the committee, Strong said.

PICKING UP PARK LAND The Woodlands Township received the following tracts of land for parks through an agreement with The Howard Hughes Corp.

The operation of the Woodlands Waterway was transferred from The Woodlands Land Development Co. to The Woodlands Township on July 25 as well as more than 230 acres of land to be used for parks and recreation at three locations. The township board of directors approved the measures at its July 20 meeting. The Woodlands Waterway land transferred totals 32.49 acres and extends from Lake Woodlands Drive to The Woodlands Mall. The Howard Hughes Corp., which owns the development company, retained rights on several parcels where pedestrian bridges could potentially be built in the future, including around the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, said Bret Strong, the township’s legal counsel. “This is a historical moment in the history of The Woodlands,” Strong said of the transfer. The origin of the transaction can be found in a 2008 maintenance agreement between the township and the land development company which stated 15 years after the agree- ment took eect, the maintenance of the waterway would transfer to The Woodlands. The township has allocated $400,000 for maintenance expenses from August through December relating to the acquisition. According to information at the

MILLENIUM FOREST DR.

THIS IS A HISTORICAL MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WOODLANDS. BRET STRONG, LEGAL COUNSEL TO THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP

The background: Strong said when The Woodlands was being developed in 1972 it was envisioned as having a waterway connection through its Town Center. • The Howard Hughes Corp. began construction on the waterway in 1999. • The waterway opened in 2002, and it was extended in 2004 to The Woodlands Mall, he said. • As of 2018, the waterway runs from Hughes Landing to the mall.

S. PANTHER CREEK DR.

Key: 1 2.09-acre parcel near the Parks and Recreation Operation Center 2 24.31-acre tract of land near Bear

Branch Recreational Facility 3 208-acre tract of land on Gosling Road SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY IMPACT

Also of note: In addition to

THE WOODLANDS EDITION • AUGUST 2023