The city of Conroe is progressing on downtown revitalization as city officials work on construction and beautification projects and business owners open more restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues.
In addition to projects such as sidewalk rehabilitation and building facade upgrades, city officials and business owners said both new and long-established businesses downtown are helping to make Conroe a destination for visitors and residents a downtown to be proud of.
“I know a lot of younger people that ... would go out in The Woodlands before [and] now [are] coming to Conroe. It’s just got a hip vibe; it’s got a cool vibe,” Mayor Jody Czajkoski said.
The downtown Conroe development plan, which was passed by City Council in 2019, set out to establish a vision of downtown and strengthen its role as a unique destination complementary to surrounding areas, according to the plan. The plan sets out recommendations for city officials in regard to downtown projects, and includes issues found downtown and what course of action is recommended.
In addition to the revitalization plan, the Texas Historical Commission gave Conroe its Main Street Community designation Oct. 29, which provides resources, such as state grants, and technical support, to towns and cities looking to preserve their main streets and allows an advisory board of local officials and business owners to aid and promote projects in downtown Conroe, Downtown Manager Frank Robinson said. However, no funding grants have been used by the board yet.
“I’ve seen a cohesiveness amongst the downtown merchants and businesspeople when it comes to specific activities ... and all of the merchants and businesspeople coming together to create really exciting and meaningful experiences for the local residents,” said Carla Alsandor, senior director of the University of St. Thomas’ USTMAX Center and member of Conroe’s Main Street Advisory Board, in an interview.
Additionally, Conroe City Council unanimously voted May 26 to move forward with designating part of the city’s downtown as the Conroe Arts District and applying for a state designation as a cultural district. The designation stretches from Madeley to Pacific streets and from Hicks to Cochran streets.
The designation would allow the city to use resources to stimulate economic development in the arts, and potential uses include attracting artists to the city, preserving historic buildings and establishing tourism destinations.
“The city of Conroe has an exceptional group of performing artists that are well-known throughout the state of Texas,” Council Member Marsha Porter said at the May 25 workshop discussing the designation. “Downtown plans its entire schedule around the Crighton’s opening. This is a win-win situation for the city of Conroe.”
Need for revitalization
Robinson said changes to downtown started in the early 2000s when downtowns across the nation started to come alive again.
“In short, there’s a renaissance going on in downtown Conroe, and it’s attracted investors. So without the investors, you wouldn’t have this [downtown]. You get these new people coming in buying buildings wanting to put in these fun, new entertaining venues,” Robinson said in an interview.
Robinson said the 2019 downtown plan was created to make recommendations for downtown revitalization. A group of residents helped form the downtown plan, which was voted on by residents.
The plan cited a lack of critical mass of shops, restaurants and entertainment businesses in downtown. Since then, Janice Parish, owner of Brownlee Jewelers—which has been in downtown Conroe for over 90 years—said new businesses have filled in downtown.
“Before all this revitalization started there were spaces that were boarded up and just in terrible repair. And then, of course, we did the revitalization and made the buildings beautiful and welcoming, and now with the new businesses coming in it’s really made a difference in having people come [to downtown],” Parish said in an interview.
More recently, Alsandor said the Main Street Advisory Board was created by city employees and business owners downtown to aid in downtown revitalization through grants from the state while keeping the buildings’ historical fingerprint. The board was approved at council’s Jan. 13 meeting.
Revitalization efforts
From sidewalk rehabilitation and building facades to multimillion-dollar building projects, Robinson said some projects in the plan, such as pedestrian work on Metcalf Street and building a performing arts center, will be long term.
The planned performing arts center will be at the former Walter P. Jett Center in Conroe, which was bought by the city for $4.2 million, with a plan for renovations expected to be presented to City Council in the summer, Robinson said.
“That was a big deal and a real step in the right direction now to try and create a venue that sees all the different disciplines we’ll have where they can have offices,” he said. “It’s visual arts. All the different folks, sculptors and artists and so on.”
In addition, City Engineer Tommy Woolley said the city is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Texas Department of Transportation on enhancing the flood plain green space in the center of the arts and honors district downtown with landscaping and having an appropriate slope and drainage.
The downtown plan states the flood plain and green space will cost the city an estimated $1.4 million, and the space will provide stormwater relief when necessary. Woolley said the city is also working to finish projects started before he was city engineer, with the addition of pavers on the sidewalk, streetlights and putting power lines underground already complete. The final phase of putting all the power and dry and wet utilities underground in three alleyways will have bids out in the summer.
“These are things you should consider doing if you want to make [downtown] a better place and maybe you want to create people spaces and you want to create good living experiences, entertainment experiences and so on,” Woolley said.
The downtown plan also outlines changing the character of Metcalf Street, including adding multifamily housing, retail and a parking garage at the Owen Theatre parking lot. It states that urban development on Metcalf would increase the demand for local shopping, dining and entertainment. Robinson said the Owen Theatre parking lot project has been bid out and is in negotiations, but Metcalf retail and residential development will be a long-term project.
“I see a lot of potential [on Metcalf], but that’s probably a longer-term project and may involve the Owen Theatre parking lot,” Robinson said.
New businesses
In addition to long-standing businesses such as Red Brick Tavern and Pacific Yard House, Seth McIntyre—partner of the MoCo Food Hall set to open in early summer—said many new businesses, including Fass Brewery, Main Street Merchants, Dragon Bowl C Noodle Bar, The Ferm Meadery and 202 Main, have all opened in the past few years. The new businesses have continued to fill in downtown with things other than government buildings and law offices, he said.
“You can fill a whole weekday [in downtown] now I feel like, or weekend,” McIntyre said.
Robert Sokulski, the owner of multiple buildings downtown, such as the MoCo Food Hall building and the building encompassing 202-210 N. Main St., said although restaurants and entertainment now offer a better variety downtown, he believes downtown is still missing retail and residential spaces.
“We already have the theaters; we have the live music; we have bars, restaurants. ... Retail was lacking,” Sokulski said in an interview. “So that’s one thing I’d like to see more of, but we also need to have more downtown living.”
Maegan Kirby and Jishnu Nair contributed to this report.
Projects Initiated
Conroe has launched several projects and initiatives to enhance the city's downtown.
Main Street Community designation
- Scope: provide resources and technical support to preserve and enhance Main Street
- Status: The city of Conroe unanimously approved the bylaws and the first appointments to its Main Street Advisory Board at its Jan. 13 meeting.
- Scope: harness resources to stimulate economic development in the district
- Status: Designated the Conroe Arts District at City Council’s May 26 meeting, the city is applying for a state designation as a cultural district.
- Scope: city bought the former Walter P. Jett Center with plans for renovations for offices, performing arts areas and visual arts areas
- Status: Use of the building will begin this summer, and renovation plans are to be presented to council in the summer.
- Investment: $4.2 million in city funds
- Scope: grade flood plain for FEMA-accepted slope and drainage, coordinate landscaping with Texas Department of Transportation
- Status: The city has begun landscaping and grading upgrades.
- Investment: approximately $1.4 million
- Scope: putting power lines and dry and wet utilities underground
- Status: Bids are expected to be out in the summer.
- Scope: adding residential and retail development; a parking garage on Owen Theatre parking lot
- Status: Bids are in negotiations for work on the parking lot, but residential and retail timelines are unknown.
