One of Harvey's Most Visible Scars Being Replaced in Kingwood Town Center

If you live in Kingwood, you likely have noticed new construction in Town Center on the southwest corner of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway. For almost three years after Harvey, the Chase Bank on that corner sat vacant. Now it’s being replaced by a new freestanding CVS Pharmacy…but built up a little higher than the bank was.

*Looking NW from over West Lake Houston Parkway toward the old H-E-B center in the background, new CVS under construction in foreground.*

A Move Across WLHP for CVS

The new CVS Pharmacy will replace the CVS in the old Randall’s center across West Lake Houston Parkway. A CVS spokesman said the company hopes to have the new store open by spring of next year.

*Looking straight down on the new construction. Kingwood Drive on left, WLHP at top.*

The new CVS will definitely enhance the image of Kingwood’s busiest intersection. Unfortunately, two other shopping centers at that intersection have lost their anchor stores (Randall’s and the old H-E-B).

Rumors Regarding Randalls and Old H-E-B Centers

Merchants in the area say both shopping centers could soon be renovated. The old H-E-B center has a new owner who plans to reconfigure the shopping center and has reportedly been showing plans to prospective tenants.

The old H-E-B center on the NW corner still struggles without an anchor store. Only a handful of pre-Harvey merchants remain: Dominos, Hallmark, Hunan, Pet Ranch, and Subway. More than 30 stores are vacant.

*The Randall’s center lost its anchor last year. The CVS store that’s moving across WLHP is on the right end of the strip center.*

Rumors also suggest that Randall’s may be split into two smaller stores, adding new life to that center.

Chase continues to offer service from two other locations in Kingwood. One at Chestnut Ridge and Kingwood Drive. The other just three blocks south of the new CVS location.

No doubt, some of the vacancies are due to general weakness in demand due to COVID. But I also suspect many merchants have taken a wait-and-see attitude before signing leases. They want to see if flood-mitigation efforts are real.

Town Center Flood Risk Reduction Since Harvey

The return of commercial activity to Town Center will be an even stronger sign of recovery. Since Harvey, flood risk in Town Center has been greatly reduced with:

Ben’s Branch being cleaned out from Kingwood Drive to the YMCA
The announced expansion of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch which will take water out of Ben’s Branch
The dredging of the San Jacinto River.
Also, an engineering study is underway to increase the discharge capacity of the Lake Houston Dam.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/2020

1146 Days since Hurricane Harvey

A Move Across WLHP for CVS

Rumors Regarding Randalls and Old H-E-B Centers

Town Center Flood Risk Reduction Since Harvey

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