Grogan's Mill Village Center.

Project brief

Grogan's Mill Village Center is a 9-acre mixed-use center in The Woodlands, Texas, combining shops, restaurants and civic space. It opened in 1974 as the community's first village center. After its grocery anchor closed and no new grocer showed interest, Howard Hughes acquired the retail portions in 2023 and began a redevelopment. Identity Architects led the renovation of the 31,363-square-foot retail portion, with M2L Associates handling landscape design and tree preservation. PGAL designed the civic component.

The redevelopment came out of a land swap with Montgomery County, under which Howard Hughes designed, built and privately funded a new library and community center in exchange for the county's former library site. Work on the $16.5 million project began on July 15, 2024. The former grocery building became the Kevin Brady Library and Community Center, which includes a 5,000-square-foot meeting room for voting, senior services and family events. The retail work refreshed the façades, improved circulation and pedestrian connections, expanded outdoor gathering areas and added a new clock tower, while several businesses stayed open throughout. The retail portion was completed with a ribbon-cutting on June 25, 2025, and the library opened on September 2, 2025. The redevelopment was named a finalist in the Urban Land Institute Houston District Council's 2026 Development of Distinction Awards.

In 2023, BOGZA produced exterior renderings for the redevelopment. One view shows a restaurant building with a gabled metal roof, wood slat details and patio dining.