A recent announcement from The Howard Hughes Corporation unveiled plans for the start of Village Green at Bridgeland Central, the 23-acre first phase of commercial development within Bridgeland Central. As Bridgeland’s footprint expands across Grand Parkway with the opening of Prairieland Village, having resources like a grocery store and additional retail and shops right in our community adds more convenience to living in Bridgeland. At the center of it all will be Bridgeland Central, a 925-acre hub of commerce consisting of best-in-class office, retail, multifamily, dining, hospitality, entertainment, and public spaces.
Located at the intersection of Bridgeland Creek Parkway and Summit Point Crossing, a more than 100,000-square-foot H-E-B will anchor Village Green along with a 49,000-square-foot, three-story mass timber office building — the first of its kind in the Greater Houston area.
“Bridgeland Central’s scale, design and breadth of offerings will be unlike anything that exists in Northwest Houston,” said Jim Carman, President of the Houston Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation. “Howard Hughes strives to create unparalleled experiences within its master planned communities, and Bridgeland Central will be no exception, meeting the demand for our hallmark quality of life as the community continues to grow.”
H-E-B’s location will make the weekly task of going food shopping convenient. H-E-B grocery stores, proudly serving Texas since 1905, will tailor to the needs of customers in our community, offering grocery, bakery, deli/food service, a drugstore, produce, floral, meat and seafood departments, curbside pick-up and delivery services, as well as fuel service.
WHAT IS MASS TIMBER?
Mass timber is a new type of wood product being used in commercial construction where many layers of wood panels are laminated together providing strength and durability. Because wood is natural and renewable, it is an energy-efficient alternative to using steel and concrete. With its inherent ability to store carbon, the structure will save more than 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced by a typical steel and concrete structure.
“Prioritizing sustainability and resiliency is at the forefront of our long-term approach to developing large-scale master planned communities where people want to live for generations,” said Carman. “This first-of-its-kind project in the region exemplifies our commitment throughout Bridgeland to exploring cutting-edge sustainability within office design.”
Designed to meet LEED Gold and Fitwel certifications, the three-story structure will reduce annual energy usage by 25% and municipal water consumption by 98%. A 10,000-gallon rainwater harvesting cistern will collect recycled rainwater and HVAC condensate.
WHAT DO THESE CERTIFICATIONS MEAN?
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It’s a rating system used worldwide for all types of buildings based on compliance with strict requirements during planning, design, construction and operations that specifically address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. Fitwel is a leading certification system and platform that measures how well a building optimizes human health.
Studies have proven that human health is positively impacted by integrating nature into built environments where people live and work. As a continuation of Bridgeland’s overarching concept of connecting people with nature, this mass timber office building will demonstrate a commitment to biophilic design, creating connections through breezeways and shaded porches along with drought-tolerant, resilient landscaping. Its design provides a unique and inviting workplace that appeals to tenants and employs sustainable design strategies that reduce negative impacts to the surrounding environment. Tenants will benefit from the natural light cascading from floor-to-ceiling windows and a windowed wall on the roof. Additional amenities include a bicycle storage room and shower facility to enable people to bike or walk to work using Bridgeland’s vast trail system.
As we continue to create harmonious spaces that acknowledge the intimate relationship between people, buildings and the land, Village Green will be just the beginning of a walkable urban core that links back to nature. Construction on this first phase will begin early next year. Both H-E-B and the mass timber office building have a targeted opening in 2024.