Within those 2 square miles, there are 60 restaurants, five shopping centers and 13 hotels, providing sales tax revenue that allows the city to have a low property tax rate, officials said.
Looking back
Beginning as a community of homes known as Shenandoah Valley in the 1960s, Shenandoah officially became a city on March 16, 1974, in south Montgomery County.
Before the 1990s, Shenandoah consisted of a stretch of land with some businesses and homes between City Hall and Research Forest Drive. It was in the late 1990s when Home Depot and Portofino Shopping Center opened on northbound I-45, bringing an increase in businesses coming to the area.
“There's no denying that our growth is in large part due to The Woodlands and the growth of Montgomery County in general [especially] in Conroe,” City Administrator Kathie Reyer said.
A closer look
Fast-forwarding to 2023, Shenandoah has grown from a population of less than a thousand, according to the Texas State Historical Association, to a population of 3,481, according to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. It continues to grow as more people move to the area, but original residents still live in the city, such as Bob Knight, a resident who became mayor of the city from 1992 until 1995, Reyer said.
With medical clinics and the proximity of hospitals—such as Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center and Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital—officials said more young professionals are moving to the area, which could change the city's demographics. According to the U.S. Census 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimate, the median age in Shenandoah was 60.6.
“They're bringing professional people who are opting to reside here because it's easier for them to first of all get in and out through the highway or to the medical offices and buildings and the oil companies that are around us,” Mayor John Escoto said. “I personally know a handful of residents who have—who grew up here [and] moved away, came back with their families to raise their own families back here in [Shenandoah]."
With the constant growth comes concerns of crime and the city not being able to expand beyond its present boundaries, officials said.
“With that growth comes traffic and mobility and, [you know] unfortunately, crime, and we have an excellent police force who works hard to manage that and control it,” Reyer said.
The Shenandoah Police Department is a 26-officer department with a police chief and administrator. The police serve not only the town but also the I-45 area.
“For our size town, that size police force is unheard of. But that's the reason, but they do a very good job of keeping that quality of life for the residents keeping them safe,” Reyer said.
Looking ahead
With the constant growth, road maintenance is an ongoing concern. A major intersection project is currently underway by the Texas Department of Transportation on I-45 and Research Forest Drive for better traffic flow by increasing the lane width.
Additionally, the city helped fund a project to extend David Memorial Drive to Hwy. 242.
“It's already going to be benefiting everybody because the stretch of David Memorial Drive [since] it goes into the county, [and] there's not really much over there,” Reyer said.
This project has been one of the many that the city has been able to work with the surrounding communities, such as The Woodlands and Montgomery County officials.
A recent major project for the city involved extending its water and sewer lines to Tamina, an unincorporated community founded in 1871 by formerly enslaved people after the end of the Civil War, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The project is funded by up to $21 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and must be completed by the end of 2026. Phase 1 of the project was completed in February, and Phase 2 is underway, Escoto said.
“It's a privilege, though, for us to do that. I mean, it's, you know, we get to say, 'Hey, we supplied water and sewage,'” Reyer said. “It's also a partnership with that community.”
Editor's note: This story was updated to include that five shopping centers are located in Shenandoah.
