Plans move forward on Camp Strake property

The Camp Strake property near Conroe has enlisted a Boston-based land planning and design firm that helped design two well-known local projects to draft plans for the area.

Houston-based Johnson Development Corp. has hired Sasaki Associates, which designed most of The Woodlands as well Bridgeland, The Howard Hughes Corp.’s  newest master-planned community located in Cypress.

The design phase is a four-month process that started six weeks ago, said Doug Goff, COO of Johnson Development. He would not discuss specific plans for the property.

“We’re backing up and re-evaluating the property,” said Goff. “It’s an incredible location. The character of the land is pretty unique. It’s forested, and there are 100 acres of lakes in the interior.”

Johnson Development will preserve more than 1,200 acres, he said.

The master-planned community developer purchased the 2,046-acre site from Sam Houston Area Council Boy Scouts of America for an undisclosed price in November 2013. The Montgomery County Commissioners Court  signed off on a tax incentive on March 5 that will repay Johnson $20 million over 10 years as it builds out a large-scale mixed-used development on the 2,046-acre site.

It sits on the southwest corner of Interstate 45 North and Loop 336, south of Conroe, with frontage on both I-45 and Loop 336. It also is less than 10 miles north of the new Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) corporate campus currently under construction.

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