The city of Shenandoah continues to see expansions in commercial development with medical, office space and retail facilities under development.

Continued growth of the city's commercial base improves revenue generated from sales tax, which benefits Shenandoah residents after the funds are applied to capital projects, Shenandoah City Manager Greg Smith said.

Much of the development is in the Vision Park corridor, where facilities such as a Kelsey Seybold health care clinic are being constructed.

Similarly, developments such as an Ethan Allen furniture store, Bob's Steak and Chop House restaurant, Courtyard Marriott, Home2 Suites extended-stay hotel and Holiday Inn Staybridge Suites as well as a Pisula Development Company mixed-use project make up some of the ongoing additions along I-45, Smith said.

The Pisula development contains retail, banking, and office space in four different buildings for leasing. DPC owner Tom Pisula said developers are attracted to Shenandoah because of the proximity to major highways and roads, and the availability of open land.

"I-45, the access to all of the areas around and they can feed off of I-45, Research Forest Drive and Hwy. 242, [are the reasons for development]" Pisula said. "Obviously the [population] growth that is going on [is a factor], and Shenandoah still has land to be developed where The Woodlands does not."

The Woodlofts, another mixed-use development, will be located at the intersection of David Vetter Blvd. and I-45. The project is an example of the direction some developments are taking in the Shenandoah region, Smith said. The development is located in the city's development corridor, where properties are required to offer ground-floor commercial space, but have the option to lease residential or office space in the floors above it.

"[The development corridor] is sort of a back-to-the-future kind of thing," Buckhead Investment Partners CEO Kevin Kirton said. "Back in the old days, you had people living above shops or stores. It is a new way of providing a variety of complimentary uses in a location that allows somebody to come home from work, park the car, and go downstairs to a restaurant or shop. That benefits the owner of the restaurant also because he has some built-in patrons above it."

Construction on The Woodlofts is expected to begin before the end of the year, or early in 2015, Kirton said.

The growth of commercial development has increased the city's sales tax base, which benefits residents through capital project investments, Smith said.

"All development is good development as long as it is controlled and done in a proper manner," Smith said. "Sales tax is very important to the city—that is how we do a lot of our capital projects and are able to provide some of the services that we have. But at the same time, we want to make sure that it is good development that is not going to be a burden for the residents or cause a negative impact."