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q: Want to find out about approved, active or recently completed development here in The Woodlands?
a: Go to the website www.thewoodlands.net.  A Development Update icon is located on the left side of the home page. TWDC post's projects that are either under construction or recently completed at the time the report is issued. Due to the nature of TWDC business, there are many planning sessions that lead to the finished product, so reporting on every proposed project would be misleading. TWDC tries to be as forthcoming as possible about future plans and developments, and provide information when TWDC has  signed contracts with third parties such as builders and other developers.

q: What is the new development behind fire station 5 (in Sterling Ridge Village , across from the 9th grade campus on Ashlane Way).
a: The project is a 6-acre parcel that is being developed by Chesmar Homes. It will be a neighborhood of 52 duplex townhomes (26 buildings each with two units for sale) called Chesmar Manor, with home prices starting from the $150’s. Land development is expected to continue through September and homes are expected to be under construction in late September or early October.

q: What kind of impact analysis is done as part of the development planning process? And what can be shared about the impact analysis study for the new Chesmar Manor development?
a: TWDC has done careful analysis of the impact of this and every development on a number of factors including school population, traffic and property values. Within our five-year and annual marketing plans is an analysis of projected population based on density per acre. The average density in the developed areas of The Woodlands is 3.5 units per acre. The Village of Sterling Ridge is below that average at 3.1 units per acre. By contrast, the average in Alden Bridge is 3.6 and 3.4 is projected for the Village of Creekside Park. The average density in Panther Creek is 3.9 units per acre.

 

If you take the average number of children in the recently developed duplex neighborhoods of Burberry Park, Bloomhill and Ledgestone in the Village of Sterling Ridge, it is .507 children per unit. That is about half the average in The Woodlands overall, which is .98 children per unit. (The source for this information is the June, 2010 demographics report produced by Interfaith of The Woodlands). If you assume that all of these children are in grades K-6 (which would be the maximum number at school age), there would be 26 students in the 52-unit Chesmar neighborhood or 3.7 students per grade. With at least four classes per grade, that is less than one student per class that will be added to the school population as a result of this new neighborhood.

 

We regularly meet with school district officials to review projections for student populations at the schools serving The Woodlands. We take a very proactive stance so that district officials can plan in advance for future growth. The school districts make the decisions to raise funds through bond issues or to alter attendance zones to accommodate that growth.

 

We also do traffic studies on a regular basis to determine the need for road expansion projects. The recent widening of Woodlands Parkway and Research Forest Drive are part of the plan to enhance mobility within The Woodlands. Part of our master planning also includes developing neighborhoods within walking distance of amenities such as shopping, recreation and public transportation. The Chesmar Manor neighborhood, with its close proximity to schools, shopping, the library and YMCA, is a classic example.

 

Property values have remained very steady in The Woodlands, which is one of the reasons why people buy here. The Woodlands is currently ranked the #2 Best-Selling Master-Planned Community in the country, and homes in master-planned communities generally appreciate and hold their value better than homes in smaller subdivisions. This holds true for all types of homes in The Woodlands – from duplexes to larger single-family homes.


-Nick