Houston has been named one of the fastest-growing cities for millennials, and the trend is extending to the Cy-Fair area.

According to research from data and media company Bloomberg LP, Houston ranks eighth among cities that have seen the most millennials move in from 2010-13 and is fifth among cities with the highest portion of millennials at about 22.1 percent of the city’s population. There are no precise dates for when the millennial generation starts and ends, but researchers generally consider the cohort to have been born between 1982 and 1996.

As a result, developers in Cy-Fair, where the millennial population has been steadily increasing year by year, have been exploring ways to attract the next generation of workers and consumers.

“It’s not necessarily that millennials are all moving to the typical urban environments,” said Steve Murdock, a demographer and professor of sociology at Rice University. “They are moving where the jobs and the growth are, and although there are jobs in the central Houston district, there are plenty in Cy-Fair as well.”

The millennial influx has affected a number of areas, including multifamily development and the construction of more mixed-use walkable shopping centers.

Millennial movements

Millennials have been moving into Cy-Fair at a slower rate compared to the movement within Houston’s city limits but still fast enough to increase as a percentage of overall population in four of the seven Cy-Fair ZIP codes: 77040, 77064, 77070 and 77429.

“Young professionals are attracted to the Cy-Fair area because you can work, live and play here,” said Evie Dross, chairwoman of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Committee. “Cy-Fair has become an area in which millennials can obtain careers in places like Cy-Fair ISD or North Cypress Medical Center, find unique eateries, affordable lakeside living and other amenities like the premium mall outlet.”

Created in 2012, the Young Professionals Committee aims to connect the area’s young professionals, cultivate a new generation of local leaders and ultimately create a community, she said.

Murdock said the generation of young people who grew up in suburban areas like Cy-Fair are now beginning to enter the workforce. Many of them are finding themselves unable to afford rent in Houston.

Committee members—including Sara Theut, who graduated from Cypress Woods High School in 2009—cite staying close to family and the area she grew up as a big incentive to live in Cy-Fair.

Entertainment options, while once a drawback, are becoming increasingly varied as well, Theut said.

“Cy-Fair has a lot to offer in that there’s something for everyone—for you and your friends, family [and] loved ones,” she said.

Directing development

The effect of the inflow of millennials to the Cy-Fair area can already be seen in development trends related to residential, retail and office projects.

A moderate estimate from Population and Survey Analysts—a Texas-based demographic research firm that works closely with CFISD—suggests around 7,800 more apartments will be occupied between the 2015-16 and 2019-20 school years.

A 2015 PASA report found about 23 percent of all residences within CFISD boundaries are multifamily. A moderate projection suggests between 16,000-17,000 new multifamily units could be built through 2024, which would bring the proportion of residences up to 26 percent.

“Many young professionals are not looking to buy a home at this time in their lives but still want to be able to live in a place that meets their wants and needs,” said Jen Merrihew, marketing manager with Allen Harrison Company.

Allen Harrison manages several properties in the Cy-Fair area, including 91Fifty, an apartment complex that opened last fall. 91Fifty was designed with millennials in mind, Merrihew said, offering modern aesthetics and  organized social gatherings.

However, a survey from Goldman Sachs suggests renting is considered a short-term situation for the majority of millennials. Roughly 93 percent of renters ages 18-34 plan to buy a home someday, the survey found.

Trendmaker Homes President Will Holder said many residents in rental homes are saving up to make a purchase once they start families and uncertainty in the economy subsides.

“There’s a lot of people in rental homes right now,” Holder said. “These people in rental homes are not going to rent forever. They’re going to unfold out into the marketplace over the next 24 months.”

Mixed-use centers

Another effect younger populations have had on development can be seen in the rise of walkable mixed-use centers that combine office space with retail and restaurants. These developments, such as Vintage Park, are typically located near multiple apartment complexes and often include some form of residential living as a part of their own design.

“The concept for Vintage Park was unlike anything that was in the area at the time,” said Ben White, vice president of leasing with Dunhill Partners, the company that manages leasing at Vintage Park. “We weren’t necessarily targeting millennials when we looked for tenants to sign, but we’ve found that we have tapped into a market of people who want this kind of development.”

Two developments underway in Cypress—the Boardwalk at Towne Lake and Bridgeland’s Lakeland Village Center—seek to combine retail, office and dining into pedestrian-friendly centers.

Mixed-use centers are slowly replacing the suburban mall model in Houston, according to a 2015 report from commercial real estate company Avison Young.

“The retail market will continue to be driven by trends that support the environment that is favored by millennials,” the report concluded.