Springwoods Village developer shifts focus to retail, amenities for residents When it is completed, CityPlace will be located within walking distance of the new ExxonMobil campus.[/caption]

With nearly 10,000 employees already working within ExxonMobil and Southwestern Energy’s campuses in Springwoods Village, the master-planned community’s developer is allocating more attention to the places where its residents will congregate.

Springwoods Village developer Coventry Development Corporation Houston is planning to begin construction on more single-family homes, a retail shopping center anchored by a yet-to-be-named grocery store and CityPlace—the town center of the community—within the next year.

“It’s like the first phase was the foundation for the house,” said Keith Simon, executive vice president and director of development at CDC Houston. “Now we’re building the kitchen, patio, backyard and all of the places that people end up in your house.”

CDC is selecting builders for either two or three residential neighborhoods that will feature up to 175 townhomes and single-family homes. Simon said he expects the homes to range in cost from about $300,000 to $500,000, a lower price point than the current two residential neighborhoods in Springwoods Village, Audubon Grove and Harper Woods.

Contracts with builders will be finalized by the end of the year and building is scheduled to begin in early 2016, Simon said. More than 50 of the nearly 140 planned homes within the existing single-family projects have been completed, CDC officials said.

The retail center—dubbed The Market at Springwoods Village—will include 300,000 square feet of space for retailers and restaurants when its second phase is completed. It is located at the south end of Springwoods Village at the corner of Holzwarth and Spring Stuebner roads. Shopping center development specialist Regency Centers is developing The Market at Springwoods Village.

The most significant Phase II development within Springwoods Village is the 60-acre CityPlace. The mixed-use town center will be a high-density commercial area with more than 4 million square feet of office space and feature retailers and restaurants on the ground floor of multi-story office buildings, according to CDC.

CityPlace will also feature multifamily residential projects and two hotels, Simon said. Groundbreaking for CityPlace is expected either late this year or in the first quarter of 2016.

“I think it’s equally important to the community as Phase I that created so many jobs,” Simon said. “That drives everything else. Phase II is really important particularly because of the City Place environment. It’s really important to have that to create the type of community that we envisioned for Springwoods Village.”