Grand Parkway helps fuel northwest Houston development boom

By Tamra Santana

Now open for roughly one year, the northern loop of the Grand Parkway continues fueling economic growth in the region, with developers scrambling to fill demand for a booming population.

"The Grand Parkway has and will be the major driver for mobility and development growth in the region," said Keith Simon, executive vice president of CDC Houston, developers of Springwoods Village.

The opening of the Grand Parkway has helped to speed the region's growth, including new business, retail, housing and health care developments.

Springwoods Village master-planned community, located in northern Harris County, continues to develop with two new corporate offices under construction and new retail opening this summer.

"Springwoods Village has and will continue to serve as an important economic development catalyst for northwest Houston," Simon said. "It has helped to stimulate the construction of the Grand Parkway by bringing the ExxonMobil campus to the community and by donating of 125 acres of land for Grand Parkway right-of-way."

In addition, the Grand Parkway is also a driver of new hotel projects in northwest Houston, said Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce. In particular, the area around Texas 249 and the Grand Parkway is a hot spot, she said.

 

Hotel growth continues off Texas 249 near Noble Energy and Lone Star College-University Park, with a new Hyatt Place hotel off Louetta Road.

Construction will start soon on a new full-service hotel in Springwoods Village, with completion expected in late 2018. Two other hotels are already open there, including the Residence Inn by Marriott Springwoods Village and a Courtyard by Marriott in CityPlace.

Retail options are expanding for residents in northwest Houston, as the new Grand Parkway Marketplace I nears completion.

All of the anchor stores, including Target, will open by the end of March at the new center, which is located at Spring Stuebner and the Grand Parkway. The 488,000-square-feet Grand Parkway Marketplace I is 80 percent leased, according to Rob Nadler, developer with Kimco Realty.

Due to the demand, Kimco Realty is also developing Grand Parkway Marketplace II across the street from Grand Parkway Marketplace I.

Hobby Lobby and Academy Sports have signed a lease to be anchor tenants there. Those stores will open in August or September. Grand Parkway Marketplace II is 275,000-square-feet, and will build out as demand warrants, Nadler said.

The Market at Springwoods Village, a 170,000-square-foot shopping center located at the southeast corner of Holzwarth Road and the Grand Parkway, is expected to open in August.

 

The Market is anchored by Kroger grocery store. Other retailers and restaurants include Torchy's Tacos, Chick-fil-A, Tarka's Indian Kitchen, MOD Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery, Big Salad, Supercuts and Banfield Pet Hospital.

The Market is focusing on a mix of national, regional and local retail. Other retailers will be announced this spring, said Vanessa Barfuss, leasing agent for the project.

And the Grand Parkway is also fueling healthcare expansions.

Memorial Hermann built a new $168 million Cypress medical campus on 32 acres on the northeast side of U.S. 290 and the Grand Parkway, between Mason and Mueschke roads. The hospital opens March 31.

The new hospital is part of the health system's estimated $1.2 billion regional development to respond to a booming region.

In addition, CHI St. Luke's Medical Center, located at the corner of the new Grand Parkway and Holzworth Road, opened a $120 million campus a year ago in Springwoods Village.

Housing also continues to boom in the region, fueled by the Grand Parkway.

Toll Brothers and Texas-based Cernus Development are building Woodson's Reserve, a new housing community close to Interstate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road. The companies worked hard to select a location with direct frontage on what will be the Grand Parkway to allow easy access to the Exxon campus and employment hubs in The Woodlands, said Jim Jenkins, vice president of master-planned communities for Toll Brothers.

Residential communities continue to develop in Springwoods Village, including Harper Woods, which will develop through 2017.

Once complete, Springwoods Village is expected to be home to between 35,000 to 40,000 employees and 5,500 residential units.

The Mark City Place apartments will open a leasing office in April. The first apartments will be available in April.

There are about 750 residential units in Springwoods Village thus far, ranging from luxury rental apartments to townhomes and single-family homes, Simon said. Home prices range from the high $300's to the $700's.

New shopping centers:

The Market at Springwoods Village

Grand Parkway Marketplace I

Grand Parkway Marketplace II

New healthcare:

Memorial Hermann built a new $168 million Cypress medical campus on 32 acres on the northeast side of U.S. 290 and the Grand Parkway.

CHI St. Luke's Medical Center, located at the corner of the new Grand Parkway and Holzworth Road, opened a $120 million campus a year ago in Springwoods Village.

New housing:

Toll Brothers and Texas-based Cernus Development are building Woodson's Reserve, a new housing community close to I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road.

Residential communities continue to develop in Springwoods Village, including Harper Woods, which will develop through 2017.

Once complete, Springwoods Village is expected to be home to between 35,000 to 40,000 employees and 5,500 residential units.

The Mark City Place apartments will open a leasing office in April. The first apartments will be available in April

source: chron.com