Springwoods Village is Full Steam Ahead

Oil prices be damned! Planned projects are being taken off the drawing board throughout Houston, but not in Springwoods Village—CDC Houston EVP Keith Simon says the ExxonMobil and Southwestern Energy campuses are creating enough demand to drive development regardless of where oil prices are. That’s one reason we’re thrilled to host Bisnow’s Future of The Woodlands and Springwoods Village event April 1 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott. Sign up now and join us at 11am for lunch!

Some major projects are wrapping up this year, Keith (a panelist) tells us—Exxon will move the rest of its 10,000 employees into its campus by the end of June, and Southwestern Energy already has Phase 1 (1,500 employees) completed. The Marriott Residence Inn opens by September, the first hotel in Springwoods Village. On the healthcare front, St. Luke’s will open its Phase 1 by the end of the year. And of course, the Grand Parkway will open by the end of the year as well. (The frontage roads actually open this month.) Pictured, Keith and his wife, Victoria, at their son’s wedding in Colorado last fall.

Just as many developments are launching this year. Next month, Martin Fein will break ground on The Mark, its second multifamily community in Springwoods Village (rendered above, it’s at the northeast corner of CityPlace). Two more Marriotts will kick off—the Marriott Courtyard will start construction in April, and the Marriott in CityPlace will start this summer. (That will deliver at the end of 2016 or early 2017 and will anchor the east end of CityPlace.) CityPlace’s mixed-use office buildings (done in JV with Patrinely and USAA) will break ground before the end of the year, Keith tells us, and Regency’s Marketplace at Springwoods will start construction right at the end of the year. (It’s close to announcing a grocery anchor!)

Here’s a rendering of CityPlace. Keith says retail and hotel development in particular isn’t slowing—retailers are very bullish and want to get in front of all the employees officing in Springwoods Village this year. Hotels aren’t seeing any blip, and similarly want to be ready to serve business travel needs. The only sector that might be slowing is residential, but Keith tells us jobs, not rooftops, have always been the driver of Springwoods, and CDC was always building homes cautiously and slowly.

Skanska is in the planning phase for Springwoods Place, a three-phased Class-A office development that’ll total 850k SF. Director of development Ben Llana (another panelist) tells us this project is on the front end of the Spring emerging market. The team is really focused on the site/land development and preserving and restoring the natural environment, using the same design principles that The Woodlands and Springwoods Village are following.

Here’s a rendering of Springwoods Place, which sits at the intersection of I-45, the Hardy Toll Road and the Grand Parkway. Phase 1 is in design development—the start date depends on the market and pre-leasing—and will be 14 stories and 350k SF with a seven-story garage. The second two phases are each 250k SF podium-style office buildings. Join us for Bisnow’s Future of The Woodlands and Springwoods Village event April 1 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott at 11am for lunch! (Sign up now.)