NEW CHESMAR HOMES AVAILABLE IN THE EXPANSION OF STERLING RIDGE – Chesmar Homes has begun selling new single-family homes in the neighborhood of Quillwood in The Woodlands’ 400-acre expansion of the Village of Sterling Ridge. Chesmar is offering six one- and two-story homes in sizes ranging from 1,725 to over 2,600 square feet. Homes include three to four bedrooms (many with study/bedroom options); two, two-and-a-half or three baths; and two-car attached garages. Amenities vary and can include front and rear covered porches, an upstairs game room, and a dining room. Homes are priced from the $210’s to the $250’s.

Chesmar homes include numerous standard features including Champion vinyl windows which tilt out for easy cleaning; a fully fenced and sodded back year; Whirlpool front-load washer, dryer and refrigerator appliance package; 30-year Certainteed dimensional roof shingles; Monet designer faucets; and much more. For more information, call Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors - Woodlands Office 281-367-3531

The neighborhood of Quillwood is located in the Magnolia Independent School District. Children will attend Ellisor Elementary located at 33040 Egypt Lane in Magnolia, Bear Branch 6th Grade Campus at 8040 Ken Lake Drive and Bear Branch Junior High at 31310 FM 2978 (both are located approximately two miles north of the new neighborhood, off FM 2978), and Magnolia High School, located at 14350 FM 1488. A proposed site for a new school is located within the 400-acre expansion of the Village of Sterling Ridge.

May Valley Park, a nine-acre park, will be located near the entrance to the new area and winding hike and bike trails will connect the expansion with other neighborhoods in the Village of Sterling Ridge. Planned to open in the spring of 2009, May Valley Park features a heavily wooded site with a stream running through it. Amenities will include a Pavilion, tennis and basketball courts, playground, picnic area, stream crossings and pathways. Quillwood is also located near several other parks and pools in The Woodlands, including Cranebrook Park featuring a pool with interactive aquatic play structure, and 16-acre Terramont Park, with “wheel friendly” area, hills, playfields, tennis and basketball courts and an expansive playground.

There are currently 10 homes with golf course orientations available, including 26 East Ambassador Bend on the Gary Player Signature golf course. This 5,135-square-foot residence was built by Marshall & O’Connor. Priced at $1,274,900, the home features five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths and a three-car garage. For more information, call Robyn Brand at The Woodlands Custom Homes at 281-367-4550.

HOLIDAYS FOR HEROES NEEDS YOUR HELP – The Women’s Council of Realtors® - Montgomery County (WCR) is proud to sponsor “Operation Holidays for Heroes” for the third year. The program sends 1,000 holiday care packages to soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The community-wide effort takes several volunteers and donations to make it a success. The WCR is asking you to help with this project by either donating items or choosing one of the underwriting levels which help fund the cost of the items and postage.

Several generous companies have already committed to helping underwrite “Operation Holidays for Heroes” including The Woodlands Development Company, Corporate Incentives, Jeff Paul Custom Homes, Uptown Real Estate Group and Woodforest National Bank. For more information, contact underwriting co-chairs Becky Shannonhouse at 281-719-6392 or Serena Schneider at 281-536-2429 and visitwww.montgomerycountycares.com. Let’s show our men and women in the armed forces how much we appreciate them!

ADMINISTAFF SMALL BUSINESS CLASSIC COMING TO THE WOODLANDS – The Administaff Small Business Classic is coming to The Woodlands this fall, featuring 78 Champions tour professionals, including some of the most recognizable names in professional golf playing for a $1.7 million purse. Bernhard Langer was the 2007 Champion, Jay Haas won in 2006, and Mark McNulty took home the trophy in 2005. The tournament will be played on The Woodlands Country Club’s Tournament Course, former home of the PGA Houston Open Monday, October 13 through Sunday, October 19, 2008.

All net tournament proceeds will benefit local Houston charities. A total of 60,000-75,000 spectators are expected during the week’s activities, which include practice rounds Monday and Tuesday, Pro-Ams Monday through Thursday, and the Championship Rounds Friday through Sunday. The Championship Rounds will be aired onThe Golf Channel and Channel 13 will air nightly highlight shows and live broadcasts from the golf course. For more information, visitwww.administaffclassic.com.

NEW SCULPTURE TO BE INSTALLED AT THE ENTRY TO TOWN CENTER – Development work is now underway on a new entry to The Woodlands Town Center on Grogan’s Mill Road near the intersection of Woodlands Parkway. The monument sign has been removed to make way for a monumental piece of sculpture by Otto Rigan of Bisbee, Arizona.  The sculpture, as yet unnamed by the artist, consists of 10 Texas limestone columns clustered in pairs of two, comprising five clusters. The sculptures are each about nine feet tall, weigh about 7,000 pounds and feature laminated and mirrored glass inlaid in segments.

According to Rigan, the sculptures took about a year to complete. The stone was shipped from Texas to New Mexico for shaping, and then to his Arizona studio where he inlaid the mirrored glasswork. “As you drive by, the columns should reflect light differently, so it kind of becomes its own kinetic experience,” he said. Rigan’s sculpture is the 51st piece of public art to be installed in The Woodlands. Most of the public art collection has been acquired by The Woodlands Development Company and funded by owners of commercial property in the community.

The new entry, which includes the installation of a new Town Center sign on the northbound side of Grogan’s Mill Road, is scheduled for completion in November.

ULI HOLDS FIRST SUBURBAN MARKETPLACE CONFERENCE IN THE WOODLANDS – The Houston District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI)held its first-ever Suburban Marketplace Conferenceat The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center recently. The conference featured a luncheon with keynote speaker Gadi Kaufmann, Managing Director and CEO of RCLCo (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.), discussion panels, a marketplace with exhibitors, a cocktail reception and tours of Town Center conducted by The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC), The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau. ULI brings members of the development and land use community together to meet, share experiences and best practices, and lay the foundation for future collaborative efforts.

“We were happy to host and participate in this first-time event for ULI and The Woodlands,” said Alex Sutton, Co-President of The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC). “We enjoyed showing ULI members our Town Center developments, includingThe Woodlands Waterway, Waterway Square, Market Street, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and Town Green Park.”

“The Woodlands is one of our region’s true gems,” said Jason Stuart, Executive Director of ULI Houston. “It served as the perfect setting for our inaugural Suburban Marketplace Conference, as it embodies thoughtful planning and development and the creation of a sense of place, which in turn produces lasting value for the residents themselves, and, for that matter, all of us who live in the Houston region.” Pictured from left to right: Jason Stuart, Reid C. Wilson, ULI Houston District Council Chair;Nelda Blair, Chairman of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors; Alex Sutton;and Robert Heineman, Vice President of Planning for TWDC.

14 of the 19 Conroe ISD schools in The Woodlands are rated Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in the newest ratings issued in August. Construction is underway on the new Creekside Forest Elementary (K-6) School in the Village of Creekside Park.  The Tomball ISD elementary school is the first new neighborhood school in the village. The Woodlands Wildflower Festival, a tradition in The Woodlands for over 20 years, is scheduled for 10 am – 2 pm on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at Cochran’s Crossing Shopping Center. Free wildflower seeds will be distributed to visitors, along with nature related exhibits, gift items for sale, and fun activities for the whole family

Anything I can do for you, give me a call:  Ken Brand - 832-797-1779