Oak Ridge North's growth in redevelopment

The city has been doing just that for the past two years, a project that involves overhauling its infrastructure. Part of the rehabilitation is an $8.1 million project involving water distribution and the city's sewer system. The city also is working to replace two of its existing water storage tanks with larger tanks that will expand capacity, Rudy said.

Ten-year plan

The city has put out requests for proposals for planning services to help put together a 10-year outlook. Plans call for input on strategies from freeway commercial development to economic development. Beginning this month the city will interview the proposals selected and by February, Rudy wants "to hit the ground running."

She is also looking forward to the Exxon Mobil Corporation opening its campus in Spring in 2015. Rudy expects housing, jobs, amenities, transportation and roads across Oak Ridge North to be affected by the increase in population and a need for services provided by local businesses.

John Tatum, who has been developing in Oak Ridge North for the past five years, said the city is in a good position to reap the benefits from the Exxon Mobil development. Tatum operates Greater Houston Real Estate, a real estate brokerage firm. The firm is developing the 20,000-square-foot Hanna Business Park at 26797 Hanna Road, which has space for office and retail.

He is planning to break ground on 100,000 square feet of space near the business park in the first of the year, he said.

Though there is little room for expansion, the city still has some leeway to the east, Tatum said.

"There is enormous growth east of Hanna Road," he added. "It is staggering."

Retail development

In addition to developments, the city is examining its retail sector.

"Our retail is performing flat while others are improving," Rudy said. "We are going to take a serious look as to why we are flat."

In an effort to get the city on developers' radars, Rudy and Susan Cates—marketing assistant for the city's Economic Development Corp.—attended an International Council of Shopping Centers conference in November. The event was "a great learning experience" for Rudy, who said the city had not previously reached out to potential developers, retailers or real estate brokers.

"We made some awesome contacts and now need to work on helping them understand our city," she said. "We don't mind being associated with The Woodlands, but we need our own identity, too."

While there are no new developers interested at the moment, she said, there are several projects underway in the area.

One is the 24,000-square-foot Oak Ridge North Business Park, at 26440 I-45 N., which the city annexed in 2007. The retail and office business park just completed its first phase, which Rudy said is sold out. Businesses include an animal clinic, medical uniform store and a glass designer. There are some interested prospects for development of the second phase.

In addition, the Oak Ridge North Commerce Park at 27628 Commerce Oaks Drive is being developed as a joint venture between The National Realty Group Inc, TNRG Designs and Dev-Tex Engineering LP. The 60-acre, master-planned business park accommodates retail, industrial, commercial or office tenants. Built in 2008, the first phase includes eight buildings.

That project is well-suited to get companies into the area, said Gil Staley, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership.

Staley said he admires the city's activity and focus on revenue and sales tax growth. He also expects the Crown Point Regional Center, a $24 million mixed-use project being developed by Crown Plaza Regional Center LLC that is being constructed at I-45 and Woodlands Parkway, to have a big impact. The development is part of the federal government's EB-5 jobs creation program, which enables foreign nationals to obtain a green card by investing about $1 million in a U.S. project that will create at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers. The mixed use area will have a hotel as well as a restaurant, office and retail spaces.

"I think that project alone could redefine the area," he said. "It will be a game-changer."