Welcome to Northwest Houston!

Lakes and streams. Parks and golf courses. Quiet forests and safe neighborhoods. The best of schools and libraries. A rich visual and performing arts community. A wide range of shopping options. These are the reasons to live and work in northwest Houston and why we are one of the fastest growing areas in the region.  But you might find that our greatest enticement is the people who live here.  The Champions-Spring-Northwest Harris County area is located 20 miles from Houston's central business district. This unincorporated Harris County region has a sense of community derived from a history of hardy pioneer settlers and an unparalleled present day commitment to community. Northwest Houston is one of the most popular residential and commercial locations in the Houston region.

Northwest Houston has evolved from a bedroom community to a vibrant "Edge City" where residents and visitors alike can enjoy all the necessities and the amenities that one can imagine. A commitment to excellence is evident throughout Northwest Houston. If you want to know how the community affects the business environment in north Houston, just ask the CEOs who have been here awhile. They will tell you that if employees are happy where they live, chances are good they'll be happy where they work. Then they might tell you how attitude affects success. It's a story you'll hear again and again. But it's not just about work, it's about life. It's about trees and parks. It's about plays and concerts. And it's about friends and family.

Hiking, Biking, Kayaking – Come Play in the Outdoors!

We have our own unique character here, one that has made this area a preferred location for businesses and residents for over thirty years. This community is primarily situated in unincorporated Harris County where tax rates are low and quality of life is high. We enjoy a wealth of parks and green spaces, where folks come to play or to get away! The beautiful trees of our forested neighborhoods and business campuses are what lure many to locate in northwest Harris County. The home choices are wide, from apartments and condominiums to homes for first-time home-buyers, established families and executive housing. This area of the county was founded on fun given that Champions Golf Club was the first present-day business in the area, established in 1957.

Outdoor fun is a hallmark of our wonderful, woodland community. Take a hike, ride your bike or kayak along our winding creeks. County and community parks dot the area, providing soccer, baseball and football, in addition to picnicking and fitness activities. Don't forget opportunities for golf, tennis, soccer, hockey, horse-racing, and water parks!  Come play!

Education Explosion

Northwest Harris County is also known for its outstanding schools, both public and private. There is the opportunity to start in pre-school and continue all the way to a Ph.D. without leaving the area!  In recent years, we have enjoyed an explosion of colleges and universities in our community. The Lone Star College System is one of the fastest growing community colleges in the nation, with over 80,000 students. Lone Star also offers services to businesses through the Lone Star Corporate College and Conference Center. Prairie View A & M has expanded into their Northwest Houston Center, offering undergraduate and graduate studies. With the opening of the new University Park, the University of Houston Northwest, The University of Houston Downtown, Texas Southern University and Sam Houston University are offering upper division courses for the community.

The public school districts serving the area include Spring Independent School District and Klein Independent School District, both districts serving as "magnets" for families seeking an excellent education for their children. Those seeking private school options will find Montessori, Catholic and Christian school choices. It is clear that the education of our youth is a high priority in northwest Houston.

Cultural Arts

Northwest Harris County is home to an unparalleled number of performing and visual arts venues. Families enjoy the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art, a partner with the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. World class exhibits and community classes make this facility a true jewel of the community. In the same complex as The Pearl, major musical performances are offered at The Centrum through the Foundation for the Arts and Community Enrichment. The Centrum hosts musical and inspirational performances such as the 5 Browns, Celtic Crossroads, Kevin Eubanks and The Houston Symphony.  And nearby, a half- dozen performing arts organizations deliver entertaining performances year-round with many community theatres, countless dance companies and Texas Repertory Theatre, a professional theatre with a record of rave reviews. This proliferation of the arts in our area has given way to a defined area called the Cypress Creek Cultural District.

Access and Affordability

Access and affordability are the lures to locate in northwest Harris County. There is easy access to Houston Intercontinental Airport, to David Wayne Hooks Airport that serves private and corporate aircraft, and to major shopping and entertainment.  When compared to other areas in the state, northwest Harris County maintains some of the most affordable property inventory available. The northwest community shares in Houston's recent #1 rankings according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine in job growth and affordable standard of living.

Our other strengths include –

·       Among the lowest rental rates  relative to the real estate quality  and area traffic;

·       Natural corridors along Highway 249, I-45 and the Sam Houston Tollway;

·       Diverse quality neighborhoods  and schools located close  to job opportunities – from  executive housing to apartments and senior communities; and

·       Existing and developing higher education resources to fuel a substantial workforce

Incoming Business Impact

ExxonMobil Houston Campus

ExxonMobil's new office campus in north Houston is being designed to consolidate operations from a variety of locations in Houston, TX, Fairfax, VA and Akron, OH. The new state-of-the-art campus is being constructed on a 385-acre wooded site near the intersection of I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road in Harris County and will contain multiple low-rise office buildings, a laboratory, conference and training centers and facilities such as child care, a wellness center and other employee amenities. It will house up to 10,000 employees.

"This new campus provides an opportunity to consolidate many of our Houston, Fairfax and Akron offices in one location, which will provide a high-quality working environment as our employees continue to support ExxonMobil's mission of delivering energy to meet growing global needs," said Bryan Milton, president of ExxonMobil Global Services Company, "The complex will be constructed to high standards of energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, and will promote new opportunities for employee collaboration and innovation in their daily work."

The complex will house primarily personnel in the corporation's Houston upstream operations, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, select positions from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company and various staff support services; Fairfax's ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company; and the Akron-based ExxonMobil Chemical Company. Further study will determine whether any other U.S. office locations will be located at the campus in the future. Employees will move in phases beginning in 2014, with full occupancy expected by 2015.

Newcomers seeking shorter drive times from Springwoods Village or ExxonMobil

to work or home can refer to the map of approximate drive times.

Springwoods Village

Springwoods Village is a $10 billion master-planned development near Interstate 45, situated between the Hardy Toll Road and the proposed Grand Parkway. The community is designed to integrate a wide variety of homes, a mix of retail uses, offices, schools, parks and mass transit in north Harris County. The land for Springwoods Village has been owned outright for more than 50 years before the land for the Johnson Space Center was identified. This parcel was rumored to be one of the potential sites for the space center but the Clear Lake area was ultimately selected. The acreage has been held during that time all while the city of Houston has expanded outward.

The community will encompass 2,000 acres, balancing nature, urbanism and diversity.  As the Springwoods Village community grows, land will be donated to provide schools, civic and recreation facilities, libraries, and emergency services. The existing forest and Spring Creek ecosystems will be protected and preserved utilizing best practices in sustainable design and infrastructure. A network of bike paths and walking trails will connect all areas of Springwoods Village.

Spring Creek flows through the Springwoods Village Community, creating a two-mile long natural open space border that will be integrated with the Spring Creek Greenway. A 150-acre Nature Preserve will connect to the Greenway providing access to 33 miles of trails, recreation and natural ecosystem in the Spring Creek Greenway.

Home builders for Springwoods Village will be announced later in 2012 and homes are slated to be available for purchase in early 2014. Homebuilders will be required to maintain set standards of energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity. Harris County Improvement District #18 was created to help develop the assets of the community and recently, the Springwoods Village Residential Owner's Association was chartered. The eastern part of the development will be served by Spring Independent School District and the westernmost section will be served by Klein Independent School District. Springwoods Village plans to develop 5,500 residences, 9.7 million square feet of commercial property and 35,000-55,000 jobs.

CDC Houston, Inc., a subsidiary of New York-based Coventry Development Corporation, is the developer of Springwoods Village. Keith Simon, senior vice-president and director for development explains, "We happen to think the time is right for Springwoods Village, given the progress of the Grand Parkway and other things coming up in this area. Our market research shows residential growth has been in excess of 35 percent in the northwest side of Houston. Over the next five to 10 years, projected demand is for more than 100,000 new homes in this area. Those are good statistics that gave us the confidence to go ahead."

For more information visit www.springwoodsvillage.com

The impact of incoming developments such as the ExxonMobil North Houston campus and Springwoods Village is expected to deliver a wealth of economic opportunity to northwest Houston. According to David Jarvis, Director of Metrostudy, a leading provider of real estate market data, the "multiplier effect" of any corporate relocation to an area is about three times the core jobs moved. In the case of ExxonMobil alone, current estimates would reflect an economic impact of over 32,000 jobs to northwest Houston.

"We welcome the growth," adds Barbara Thomason, Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce president, "and our focus is to prepare for it and assist newcomers with an easy, welcoming transition."

Home Sweet Home

When it is time to find a home, there is no area more community-oriented and full of "something for everyone" than northwest Houston. The home choices are broad, from apartments and condominiums to homes for first-time home-buyers, established families and executive housing. This area has maintained a strong stability and has retained its home values over the years. No other area can boast such a wide range of residential living options. The newest of these options is Springwoods Village, a master-planned community in north Harris County with a set of design standards focused on energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity.

Schools, parks, libraries, churches, cultural arts, golf, tennis, fitness centers, civic organizations, shopping, restaurants and plenty of entertainment create a perfect combination for your new home. The best part of our community, however, is the people! For more information on our diverse, growing community, visit www.HoustonNWChamber.org and click on 'Community'.

Welcome to northwest Houston!

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