Welcome to The Woodlands

 

From a quiet afternoon of kayaking to a fist-pumping night of live music, a hike through the woods to strolling The Waterway promenade, or a round of golf to a roundtable discussion — these are just a few of the ways you can spend a day in The Woodlands. A destination whose offerings and culture rival the nation’s most buzzed about larger cities, The Woodlands is a place designed for great experiences - from beautiful nature to top-tier amenities, globally-ranked venues to hidden gems. Aptly named The Woodlands for its development in and around 28,000 tree-filled acres, this master planned destination was founded in 1974 and is located 28 miles north of downtown Houston. 

 

Opened in 1974, The Woodlands® is a 28,000-acre, forested community where people live, work, play and learn as families and companies. Located 27 miles north of downtown Houston on I-45, it encompasses nine residential villages, commercial centers, a resort, a luxury hotel and convention center, additional upscale hotels, hospitals and health care facilities, and exceptional shopping, dining, entertainment and recreational amenities.

 

The Woodlands Waterway®, a 1.8-mile long water amenity, transportation corridor, and linear park, is a major destination that links the shopping, dining, residential, office, and entertainment venues in The Woodlands Town Center, the “downtown” of The Woodlands. Throughout its 44-year history, The Woodlands has led the way among master-planned communities that practice environmental preservation. Of the 28,000 acres in The Woodlands, 7,665 acres are now devoted to green space in parks, golf courses and greenbelts. Nearly 8,000 acres (28%) will remain undeveloped green space at build-out. The Woodlands is one of the best-selling master-planned communities in Texas and the nation. There are more than 33,830 single-family homes and more than 12,225 apartments, condominiums and townhomes in The Woodlands. The community has over 116,000 residents. More than 20 homebuilders are building new homes in The Woodlands. The community features a large selection of new homes and multifamily residences. Over 2,100 businesses and corporations have found a home in The Woodlands, among them Anadarko Petroleum, Aon Hewitt, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Fox Networks Group, Huntsman Corporation, McKesson, Strike and Waste Connections, Inc. Nearly 35 million square feet of commercial, retail, industrial, and institutional development are here, providing jobs for approximately 67,000 people.

 

 

The Woodlands Vision

1. Maintain the Natural Environment One of the original goals of The Woodlands’ plan was to maintain the natural forested environment. This has been accomplished through several means:

• Maintain forest preserves along major roadways
• Maintain the greenbelts along the natural streams
• Establish building setback lines around the perimeter of properties
• Establish landscape standards within properties
• Develop maximum coverage percentages for different land uses and locations
• Establish the legal means to develop and enforce these goals through the Covenants, Development Standards, Development Criteria established for each parcel prior to sale, restrictions related to land use, density, and other factors contained in recorded deeds, and by monitoring and enforcing the Standards through the various design review committees. While the Standards have been refined (and improved) over the years, all of the above remain intact from the original vision.