Johnson Development Corp. officials revealed detailed plans for an estimated 2,000-acre, mixed-use development known as Strake–The Grand Central Park to be constructed about 4 miles north of The Woodlands.

Construction is expected to begin on the new development at the former site of Camp Strake in Conroe along the corner of I-45 and Loop 336 within the next two years.

Sam Houston State University is working toward a deal with the Johnson Development Corp. to build a medical school at the Strake property in the future. If the deal is finalized, and the project is completed, the SHSU facility will be the first medical school in Montgomery County.

"The rationale for us to look at Montgomery County is because of the access to all of the health care facilities that are there, and the concentration of hospitals and heath care service providers," said Michael Lacourse, dean of the college of health sciences at SHSU. "They are going to need a workforce, and there is no four-year university with health care programs there. Our intent is to be that university."

Lacourse said Johnson Development donated 10 acres of land for the development of the medical school.

"We don't know where it's going to be, exactly," he said. "Probably somewhere along the feeder road of I-45."

Several hurdles still need to be cleared before the medical school becomes a reality. Lacourse said the proposal for a medical school at the Camp Strake site still requires approval by the university's board of regents, which he said could come soon, as well as by the school's coordinating board. Lacourse said that approval could take about a year.

Julia May, associate director of communications for SHSU, said the deal with Johnson Development is contingent upon the university acquiring adequate funding to build the facility.

Johnson Development officials issued a statement in mid-October regarding the proposed SHSU medical school.

"The Johnson Development Corp. announces transactions for the Camp Strake property as they are finalized," the statement read. "We cannot confirm any such completed transaction with Sam Houston State University at this time."

Lacourse said if the deal is finalized, construction could take about 18 months to complete with a planned opening date in fall 2018. The SHSU medical school would offer a degree path in osteopathic medicine, or DO, rather than MD.

Development plans

The Boy Scouts of America owned and managed the Strake property for about 70 years before Johnson Development Corp. acquired it in 2013.

"There's a strong scouting community and the Strake property holds a lot of things and promises to it," said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of Woodforest Development in Conroe at Johnson Development Corp. "So the difficult task will be to weave ourselves into this natural resource and come away with something prideful and the least impactful, so to speak."

Strake–The Grand Central Park will be divided into several different sections with a variety of residential units, retail areas, corporate offices and green space.

"There are a multitude of potential uses for the development," Yoakum said. "From traditional family to higher density units, to corporate retail and corporate office uses, to townhomes and many other forms."

Johnson Development Corp. is working with Sasaki Associates—a planning and design firm based in Massachusetts—to develop plans for the Strake property, Yoakum said. Sasaki Associates officials are planning the architecture and landscape to resemble open designs inspired from the East and West coasts, he said.

Retail and residential

In late September, Johnson Development Corp. and Fidelis Realty Partners finalized the acquisition of a 112-acre tract planned for future retail development at the Strake property.

The tract is proposed to include a 750,000-square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment complex. Construction is slated to begin on the retail area in late 2016 and open to the public by early 2017.

"The opportunity to create a regional shopping experience at such a prominent location was very appealing," said Lynn Davis, principal and chief marketing officer of Fidelis Realty Partners. "We're looking forward to working with Johnson Development on this project."

The west village portion of the Strake property is proposed to include several traditional, single-family homes, Yoakum said. In addition, there are plans to construct a town center in the middle of the Strake property with urban living centers and entertainment areas as well as corporate offices along I-45, he said.

"We hope that Sasaki's planning will help us whip this center into a very desirable, very pedestrian-scale, friendly environment with entertainment," Yoakum said.

The Strake property will incorporate the natural landscape and feature six existing lakes, including the estimated 80-acre Grand Lake and Deer Lake along the southern boundary of the planned development.

"If we can create a corridor of transportation and an entertainment corridor between Loop 336 and Deer Lake, that's what we'd like to do," Yoakum said.

Housing up to 5,000 residents, the Strake property could include about 2,500 to 2,700 residential units of various types including traditional houses, townhomes, apartments and live-work units, Yoakum said. At build-out in the next few decades, the property is proposed to include at least 1 million square feet of retail space.

"It could get into a strong employment corridor and a very strong residential live, work and play environment," Yoakum said. "We think that this 2,000 acres can come alive. It can be an environment that satisfies the landscape, and it can be an environment that doesn't overwhelm the community."