With construction of new single-family residential areas nearing an end in The Woodlands, Realtors and developers are looking at older areas of the community for opportunities to build new homes. However, restrictions placed on residential properties by The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Development Company often make it difficult for builders to tear down older homes to build newer, larger ones—a trend some Realtors and developers are hoping to see reversed.

"In Grogan's Mill the lots are a little bit bigger than the lots that current builders are building on [in other areas]," said Amy Smythe Harris, broker and owner of Urban Provision Realtors. "[Grogan's Mill] looks more established and developed. I have buyers who love the feel and look of the more mature neighborhoods, but they want a new house."

Tim Welbes, co-president of The Woodlands Development Company, said redevelopment is beginning to occur in Grogan's Mill. He said the typical lifespan of a home or neighborhood evolves from newly built to remodeling as the homes age, and finally to tearing down homes once the value of the lot exceeds the value of the home.

"In the case of Grogan's Mill, it's in the early stages of leaving the era of remodeling and entering the era of tear down and build new," he said. "Pretty much it's beginning to happen."

Hennie Van Rensburg, director of covenant administration for the township, said in the past three years, the Development Standards Committee, which oversees applications for new residential and commercial buildings, has seen about a dozen new homes built on lots of older homes that had been torn down.

Realtors say the most significant roadblocks to constructing new homes in older neighborhoods are development restrictions put in place by The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Development Company.

"Potential buyers could be looking at lot values and wondering 'Can I tear it down and rebuild it? Can I get it past The Woodlands?'" Harris said. "I don't think The Woodlands is advocating redevelopment."

However, Van Rensburg said there are no such restrictions in place.

"It's important to know there are no separate rules regarding redevelopment versus current development," he said. "If you have an existing home and you want to tear it down, there is nothing that prohibits you from tearing it down and building another house."

Development restrictions

Van Rensburg said when a parcel of land is being planned for development, The Woodlands Development Company places an Initial Land Use Designation on that parcel. The designation dictates what that specific piece of land can be used for and the allowable square footage of the development. In addition, The Woodlands Township places development restrictions called covenants on the property, which most commonly describe criteria, such as the color of the home and types of building materials allowed to be used in construction.

"If you wanted to do [a tear down and rebuild], you would want to go to the township and get the redevelopment standards, find out square foot limitations and the development criteria applicable to homes in that neighborhood, and that's the template with which you get to play," Welbes said. "Each neighborhood has a specific set of criteria unto itself."

Potential redevelopment areas

Harris said three areas she believes would be ideal for new development are the High Oaks neighborhood off Sawmill Road, homes on and near Red Cedar Circle off of North Millbend Drive and homes around the Tournament Players Course.

Harris said the proximity of Grogan's Mill to Town Center and I-45 are also attractions to potential buyers.

"The problem is there are no homes that are decent under $175,000 in those areas," she said. "I think there is still a market for that potential."

Lot sizes and maturity of the older Woodlands neighborhoods are also proving to be attractive to potential homebuyers, she said.

"Most consumers still want a mature neighborhood that looks nice," Harris said. "They want a big lot, they want a 4,000-square-foot house, but they want it to be new, and that is the average consumer right now. People don't want to buy old homes and fix them up. They don't have the time."

However, Van Rensburg said ILUCs and covenants were put in place to protect homeowners of less expensive homes in older neighborhoods.

"Every section, block and lot has covenants on them, and every neighborhood has an Initial Land Use Designation," he said. "They are there to protect the people who have lived there for a long time and who live in the smaller homes and maintain the uniqueness of certain areas."

George Van Horn, president of the Grogan's Mill Village Association, said he would rather see some of the older homes in the village better maintained than torn down to make way for new ones.

"In some situations [a rebuild] could be beneficial and in others, it would be better to see the houses just maintained properly," he said. "But if somebody builds a property within the covenants, they have a right to redevelop or redo the property without changing the covenants."