Two new hotels and more shopping could be headed to The Woodlands as the area continues to see growth.  The Woodlands Mall wants to expand with a minimum of 80,000 square feet of new retail space in an open-air, mixed-use commercial area that would also include a full-service hotel with at least 200 rooms, a select-service hotel with at least 125 rooms and a multi-level parking garage. The mixed-use project would be located south of Macy’s near the movie theater and be developed in two phases. The total area encompasses 15 acres. Concept renderings of The Woodlands Mall expansion (Courtesy: The Woodlands Township)   The Woodlands Township recently entered into an economic development agreement with The Woodlands Township Economic Development Zone and The Woodlands Mall Associates, LLC. The project would be in an economic development zone, which spurs economic growth and job creation.   According to documents from The Woodlands Township, depending on the scale of the project, it is estimated to generate anywhere from $180 to $275 million, based over a 30-year term. The range is based on whether the developer decides to build a smaller or larger parking garage. The township would receive more than 70% of the generated revenue and the mall would receive the remainder. The agreement also calls for the reimbursement of the parking garage costs up to $80 million. The developers have not announced when construction on the project would begin. The Woodlands Mall will decide if and when they will move forward with the plan. The Woodlands area has recently seen more economic development wins. Cellipont Bioservices recently broke ground on its new headquarters and manufacturing facility in the Research Forest area after announcing earlier this year it was moving from California to Texas. SI Group Inc. also announced earlier this year that it’s moving its global headquarters from New York State to the Hughes Landing complex. The Woodlands area has seen substantial population growth over the past decade. From 2011 to 2021, Montgomery County’s population grew more than 37% to 648,886 people.   Learn more about Montgomery County's rapid growth, business developments and future plans during the Partnership's Future of the Houston Region event on Dec. 13.

In an increasingly competitive economic development landscape, the City of Sugar Land is making a big play to keep the companies it already has.  Earlier this month, Sugar Land officials announced a new incentive program aimed specifically at the city’s office headquarters companies. The approved program provides $6,000 per job for qualified businesses to keep their headquarters in Sugar Land. As new office parks and commercial real estate developments pop up across the region and in competitor markets, Sugar Land’s move is a business retention tool designed to keep companies and investment inside the city limits.  “Retaining office headquarters is key to maintaining high-paying jobs in Sugar Land,” said Elizabeth Huff, Economic Development Director for the City of Sugar Land. “Our new incentive program ensures we maintain our office headquarter locations during this highly competitive office market and hopefully grow those high-quality job opportunities in our community.”  To qualify for the new incentive program, companies headquartered in Sugar Land must retain at least 50 primary jobs and renew their existing lease for five to ten years within the city limits. The program also requires companies commit a minimum of $1 million towards capital investment for build outs or office improvements. The investment requirement is expected to help Sugar Land, which consistently ranks among the fastest-growing suburbs in the state, to enhance its office infrastructure by encouraging companies to spend money to improve their existing space.  Sugar Land Mayor Joe R. Zimmerman said the new incentive program will enable the city to retain the companies that already call the Fort Bend County community home. “The new program allows us to target existing companies and selected industries in order to demonstrate our level of commitment and partnership to our business community,” Zimmerman said.  According to the Houston Business Journal, Sugar Land is currently home to the headquarters or principal offices of 19 companies across different industries, including a subsidiary of SLB (formerly Schlumberger), Noble Corp., Accredo Packaging, and Bluebonnet Nutrition. Learn more about why companies are choosing the Houston region.