At a Dec. 4 meeting, The Woodlands Township board of directors approved the start of a public bid process for the construction of a new cellular tower on township property and potential lease agreements.
The details
In March, the township board directed staff to look into bringing additional cell towers to The Woodlands, according to previous coverage by Community Impact.
Since then, the township has been working with Howard Hughes Holdings and other companies to gauge what could be done for the construction of a new cellular tower, township IT Director William Pham said at the meeting.
Howard Hughes, the primary developer in The Woodlands, restricts commercial communication towers on township property in various land use agreements. However, the company and the township have discussed waiving those restrictions, Pham said.
The township has received interest from cell tower providers for numerous locations, including:
- Rob Fleming Recreation Center
- Bear Branch Sports Fields
- Cattail Park
- Tamarac Park
- Terramont Park
- Lakeside Park
- Shadowbend Park
- Windvale Park
- Alden Bridge Sports Fields
- The Woodlands Fire Department Emergency Training Center
The maps below show the existing cellular coverage in The Woodlands and the predicted cell coverage when the new tower is built.
Something to consider
“There is money to be made here that saves us,” said board chair Brad Bailey. “These guys make a lot of money off these cell towers, and there’s a lease because they are leasing from our property. So, I mean, it’s a real estate deal, where we can put money and revenue into covers and not have to rely on taxpayers.”
The township will just be leasing the space for the cell towers and will get a percentage of the revenue generated from them, Pham said.
Next steps
The construction of a cell tower on property designated as a township public park would require a public hearing, according to state law. The township is expected to put out a request for proposal by the end of the week of Dec. 12, which will include locations, design elements, cellular network improvements and the public hearing process, according to the meeting agenda and Pham.
After the request for proposal process is completed and evaluated, the township will receive the recommendations from the staff and will decide on who gets the lease in early 2026, according to the meeting documents.
