As projects such as Research Forest Lakeside, Hughes Landing and several commercial and retail developments materialize, the Research Forest corridor in Shenandoah and The Woodlands is emerging as one of the busiest areas for new development.

In a little more than a year there have been more than a dozen businesses, either commercial, retail, medical or office developments, that have opened along or near Research Forest Drive. In addition, developments like the 66-acre Hughes Landing and the 77-acre Research Forest Lakeside will feature millions of square feet of high-end office space, along with retail amenities and restaurants once they are complete.

"Research Forest, like a lot of places in The Woodlands, is a place whose time has come," said Alex Sutton, co-vice president of The Woodlands Development Company.

Eastern corridor

The half-mile stretch of Research Forest Drive between I-45 and Grogan's Mill Road is within the city of Shenandoah, with portions also being owned by The Woodlands Development Company. It is also an area experiencing some of the highest growth, with a half dozen commercial establishments either recently opened or nearing completion.

The Pisula Development Company is building more than 84,000 square feet of mixed-use space in four buildings, which will include mostly medical offices, as well as retail and restaurants.

"[Research Forest] is a great location," said Tom Pisula, president and CEO of the Pisula Development Company. "It is very close to all the major hospitals, it is close to I-45 and other major intersections."

Shenandoah City Administrator Greg Smith said that although some of the land owned by The Woodlands Development Company is within Shenandoah's city limits, any potential development must adhere to the city's zoning restrictions. For example, land located on the north side of Research Forest Drive within the city limits is zoned as "neighborhood services."

"Those are typically support services that have a low impact on the residential community," Smith said.

Sutton said the Development Company works closely with the city of Shenandoah when proposing new developments. Most recently, Bob's Steak and Chop House began construction on land located within the city limits, but that is owned by the Development Company.

"The north side of Research Forest is much more restrictive because it abuts our residential neighborhoods," Smith said. "We're very strict about not wavering on any neighborhood services."

Land south of Research Forest Drive to Medical Plaza Drive is also land located within the city of Shenandoah. Development there features mostly medical offices and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital. A large parcel of land at the southwest corner of Research Forest Drive and I-45 is land owned by Methodist Hospital, which The Woodlands Development Company is marketing.

Nearing completion at the southeast corner of Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road is the Hyatt Place Hotel, a 4.3-acre hotel development that will feature 150 rooms and more than 6,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space.

"That location has been under ownership [of the hotel developers] for a while," said Elias Contreras, general manager for the Hyatt Place hotel. "It's in a prime location, right there on Research Forest and Grogan's Mill and easy access to I-45, not even a mile to Town Center. We're located near everything."

Large scale developments

The northern shores of Lake Woodlands at Research Forest Drive are home to The Woodlands' two largest office and mixed-use projects currently under development: Research Forest Lakeside and Hughes Landing.

Hughes Landing, once completed, will feature more than 2 million square feet of office space, 200,000 square feet of retail space and 200,000 square feet of hotel space. In addition to corporations such as Strike LLC and Layne Christiansen moving this fall into Hughes Landing, The Woodlands Development Company has announced restaurants will include Whiskey Cake, Escalante and Eddie V's.

Research Forest Lakeside is a project developed by Warmack Investments and will include up to 12 office buildings and 1.9 million square feet over 77 acres of office and retail space. The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, announced last month they are relocating their offices to Research Forest Lakeside in 2015.

"The next phase we're working on is a little bit of retail, which will probably start within the next couple of months," said James Warmack, president and CEO of Warmack Investments.

He said those projects could include restaurants to primarily serve employees in and around the Research Forest Lakeside development.

They would join other restaurants that have opened along Research Forest Drive in the past year, including Fielding's Wood Grill, Sakekawa Japanese restaurant and Crust Pizza Co.

Mobility issues

As the pace of development increases along Research Forest, some local leaders have expressed concern about traffic congestion.

According to an annual study of traffic counts throughout The Woodlands conducted by Atkins Engineering for The Woodlands Development Company, 34,441 vehicle trips were made at Research Forest Drive east of Grogan's Mill Road in 2013, up from 30,764 in 2012.

Although the number of vehicle trips at that intersection increased by more than nearly 4,000 in one year, the average number of trips during the previous five years was 30,817.

As part of a south Montgomery County mobility study that is currently underway, several minor mobility enhancements are being proposed along Research Forest Drive, including turn lane extensions at Six Pines Drive, I-45 and Gosling Road.

A proposal that is proving to be the most divisive is an overpass over Grogan's Mill Road. Last year, The Woodlands Development Company and The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Mobility Team worked to get the plan approved for federal and state funding. However, opposition from the city of Shenandoah and H-GAC put the brakes on the project. Now, the project could once again be gaining steam.

"There is an issue of transporting people from I-45 to the back of The Woodlands, and [The Woodlands Development Company] is working with [Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner James] Noack and The Woodlands Road Utility District and others to get that overpass done," Sutton said. "That has been discussed, and I think that is going to happen."

Noack said he would be in favor of the overpass, which could be funded by the RUD.

Smith, however, said the city of Shenandoah continues to oppose the proposed overpass. He said the city council has voted twice in opposition of the project and that the city has not received any information to justify or support the overpass.

"Any development that you have has the potential to cause more traffic," Smith said. "Some developments are not traffic intensive, like a sandwich shop is not going to create a whole lot of traffic. Most of the development has not had an impact on [mobility on] Research Forest."