Residents of Lakeland Heights in the master-planned community of Bridgeland will continue to wait for construction to start on the Lakeland Village Center. After residents complained about an aspect of the project, the developers decided to rework the idea.

As of last summer, plans for the mixed-use center included nine apartment buildings, retail and restaurant space. Now, the apartments will be relocated outside Lakeland Heights.

"A site for the apartments hasn't been identified yet, but it will most likely be south of future Bridgeland Creek Parkway," said Susan Vreeland-Wendt, director of marketing for The Woodlands Development Company, the developer of Bridgeland.

Although the addition of apartments within Bridgeland has always been part of the community's conceptual plan, Gaye Barclay and a group of her neighbors felt blindsided when they found out.

"We had a meeting with the developer, and they implied we knew [about the apartments] all along," Barclay said. "They said the sign out front said there would be residential development. We were told there would be lofts above the stores, but were never told about apartments."

To be sure other residents in Bridgeland knew, the group wrote numerous letters and placed fliers on everyone's door. They also created a Facebook page called "Stop Bridgeland BIG House," in which they shared information about the proposed mixed-use center.

"[Lakeland Heights] is about front porches and knowing your neighbors," Barclay said. "It's a lifestyle and traditional neighborhood development that they were selling. We were sold on the fact there would be a great center out front with boutiques and ice cream shops."

The Lakeland Heights Village Center will continue to be mixed-use development, featuring a combination of town homes for sale, retail, office and medical space, Vreeland-Wendt said.

"We are reassessing the plan, and we don't know when there will be a rendering," she said.

When complete, Bridgeland will have several village centers and a larger town center.