Ivan Gillis

The Woodlands, Texas

The Woodlands is located about 25 miles north of downtown Houston along Interstate 45. Though it is mostly a suburban development and a bedroom community, it also has attracted corporations to the area. As a result, the area features several corporate campuses, most notably Chevron Phillips, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Baker Hughes, CB&I, and Hewitt Associates . The development won a Special Award for Excellence in 1994 from the Urban Land Institute.

In addition to residential and corporate housing, The Woodlands features a shopping mall, seven golf courses and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, a regional concert venue.

The tract of land where The Woodlands is situated was previously occupied by the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Mill  and are the namesakes for the Grogan's Mill and Cochran's Crossing neighborhoods. The original planning of The Woodlands utilized many of the planning concepts and design consultants employed in other well regarded new communities of that era such as Columbia, Maryland, Irvine Ranch, California and Reston, Virginia. The original development plan included environmental design principals espoused by Ian McHarg, a distinguished landscape architect, teacher and author of the seminal work "Design With Nature."

The Woodlands continues to grow residentially and commercially as many companies are moving to The Woodlands. In addition to Chevron Phillips, Anadarko, Hewitt Associates, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Mærsk Sealand, Chicago Bridge & Iron, and Woodforest National Bank have set up operations in the development. The Woodlands Town Center area includes shopping and eating facilities, plus a waterway resembling the San Antonio River Walk.

The Woodlands High School is the largest high school in Texas in terms of its area (it extends over two campuses). The school once had the largest number of students (over 4,900) until the opening of a second high school in The Woodlands. TWHS is ranked 751 on Newsweek's 2007 list of the 1000 Best High Schools in America.

• Village of Alden Bridge: Northwest corner of development. Bordered by FM 2978 on the West and FM 1488 and the Jones State Forest on the North.
• Village of Cochran's Crossing: location of The Woodlands High School. Named for the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Mill.
• Village of College Park: location of Montgomery College, a public two-year community college. This neighborhood includes Harper's Landing east of Interstate 45.
• Village of Creekside Park: The last new development to be undertaken by The Woodlands Development Company. A portion lies inside Harris County. Creekside Park is planned to have 5,516 single-family production homes, 541 age 55 and over homes, 738 multi-family residences, and 298 Custom Homes and Estate Homes in the gated community of Carlton Woods Creekside.
• Village of Grogan's Mill: The Woodlands' first neighborhood. Located near the Town Center. Named for the former Grogan-Cochran Lumber Mill.
• Village of Indian Springs: lies on the northern border of Spring Creek
• Village of Panther Creek: borders the west shore of Lake Woodlands
• Village of Sterling Ridge: location of The Woodlands High School Ninth Grade Campus. Includes the gated community of Carlton Woods.
• Town Center: a primarily commercial development. Location of Market Street, The Waterway District, The Woodlands Mall and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, along with hotels and a convention center. Funded largely by The Woodlands Township.

Population:

Population (year 2000): 55,649

Males: 26,796	(48.2%)
Females: 28,853	(51.8%)

Median Age--36.9 Years

Ancestries: German (20.9%), English (16.0%), Irish (13.1%), United States (8.0%), Italian (5.6%), French (4.7%).

Races in The Woodlands:

• White Non-Hispanic (87.5%)
• Hispanic (6.6%)
• Black (1.7%)
• Other race (1.4%)
• Two or more races (1.3%)
• Asian Indian (1.2%)
• Chinese (0.6%)
• American Indian (0.6%)

(Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)

Income & Housing Costs Numbers:

Estimated median household income in 2005: $85,314 (it was $85,253 in 2000)

The Woodlands	$85,314
Texas:	$42,139

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $187,700 (it was $168,300 in 2000)

The Woodlands	$187,700
Texas:	$106,000

Geographic:

Land area: 23.4 square miles.

Population density--2377 per square mile--low.

The Woodlands-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Texas state average. It is 125% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 2/5/1986, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 10.7 miles away from the The Woodlands place center killed 2 people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages.

On 12/12/1968, a category 3 tornado 11.1 miles away from the place center caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

·        Climate Charts

1.      Average Temperature

2.      Precipitation (Rain)

3.      Humidity

4.      Wind Speed (MPH)

5.      Snowfall

6.      Sunshine

7.      Cloudy Days

·        Tornado Activity History

·        Hospitals & Medical

·        Airports

·        Colleges/Universities

·        High Schools

·        Locations of Interest

·        Shopping Centers

·        Churches

·        Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Creeks/Parks

·        Tourist Attractions

·        Banks

·        Housing Costs Information

·        Crime Statistics

·        Radio Stations AM/FM

·        TV Broadcast Stations

·        Discussion Forums

For the above information and photos, click this link:

http://www.city-data.com/city/The-Woodlands-Texas.html

Total Tax Burden--Data for Calculation

See article on Fredericksburg, Texas

Cost of Living Calculators Links:

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html?step=form&x=36&y=3

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

http://cityrating.com/costofliving.asp

http://www.relocationessentials.com/aff/www/tools/salary/col.aspx

http://swz.salary.com/CostofLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

Wikipedia Information Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas