The Woodlands: Ritz-Carlton Condos to Rise

In The Woodlands, Howard Hughes Holdings has laid out plans to develop The Ritz-Carlton Residences, The Woodlands, a high-rise tower with upscale homes for sale.

The Woodlands, a mature, 28,500-acre large-scale planned community located 27 miles north ofdowntown Houston, is one a number of large-scale developments in the Howard Hughes portfolio.

“We are pleased to officially announce The Ritz-Carlton as our brand partner for the private residences in The Woodlands, reflecting our enduring commitment to exceptional design and developing unique living experiences unparalleled in Houston’s real estate market,” said Jim Carman, President of the Houston Region at Howard Hughes.

The tower will be built on the shores of Lake Woodlands. The project is not expected to include a Ritz-Carlton hotel, a five-star luxury brand in the hospitality industry.

However, the Ritz-Carlton brand extends far beyond upscale hostelries, into high-rise residences with high-end finishes and distinguished service and amenities.

“Howard Hughes shares our steadfast commitment to top-tier quality, incomparable design, and unparalleled service,” said Sarah Khalifa, Vice President, Mixed-Use Development at Marriott International. “We look forward to working with them to bring this work start residential development in The Woodlands to life.”

Pricing for the Ritz-Carlton dwellings in The Woodlands has not been reported, but in other markets Ritz-Carlton condominiums have often been priced above $2 million per unit. Conceptual renderings indicate these high-rise homes will like be outfitted with balconies or outdoor terraces.

The Woodlands began some 50 years ago under a vision articulated by George Phydias Mitchell, the father of the hydraulic fracturing techniques of oil and gas exploration. Mitchell’s environmentally sensitive development guidelines for The Woodlands required that over one-fourth of the greenspace as retained and lawns of single-family homes retained sizable chunks of untouched forest.

The Woodlands is a past winner of the Environmental Planning Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Years ago, The Woodlands was the top large-scale planned community in the nation for new single-family home sales, but the community has depleted much of its land inventory for regular home building. The Howard Hughes organization purchased The Woodlands in 2011.

Howard Hughes has selected a prime 8-acre site, located on the last available large-scale residential site on Lake Woodlands for the Ritz-Carlton Residences.

The Ritz-Carlton organization will not own or develop the condominiums which are being developed by The Woodlands Land Development Company, L.P., with a branding licensing agreement with Ritz-Carlton.

In Dallas, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences includes 218 hotel rooms and 95 homes. It was developed by Fort Worth developer John Goff of Crescent Real Estate. Dallas Realtor Kyle Crews, head of the URBAN Team at Allie Beth Allman & Associates handled sales at the Dallas Ritz-Carlton, which was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. Crews sold out the project in 2019 with $120 million push in the final year of sales. Currently, Crews has resale listing in the Ritz-Carlton Dallas for $2.6 million for a one-bedroom, 2,154 SF unit.