Howard Hughes has opened 1 Riva Row, The Woodlands’ first apartment high-rise, blending luxury amenities with a design meant to fit seamlessly into the community’s wooded landscape.
This month, the first apartment building in The Woodlands opened. Its goal, which may seem strange for a 13-story tower, was to blend in rather than stand out. Howard Hughes spent $156 million to build 1 Riva Row, which is the first of a new era of high-end rental homes in the master-planned neighborhood north of Houston. The building fits the area's natural and architectural style.
The building, now the tallest rental building in The Woodlands, features some of the most expensive apartments in the area, with studios starting at about $2,100 and penthouses at about $11,500. But the people who built the tower took steps to make sure it fit in with its surroundings. The project preserved the surrounding pine trees, replicated nearby home styles with a brick-and-limestone front, and introduced landscape changes that led to a walk below the water.
The 268-unit building is located next to the 1.8-mile Woodlands Waterway and offers residents access to nature and the modern benefits of city life. Tenants can get to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and the shops and restaurants in Waterway Square by walking across a bridge next to the site. People can also walk to Market Street or use the township's 220 miles of trails.
Jim Carman, the head of Howard Hughes Communities' Texas region, expressed that the location offers a unique combination of urban amenities and natural connections.
Howard Hughes started planning 1 Riva Row and the new 15-story Ritz-Carlton Residences in 2021, even though the land had been set aside for residential development for a long time. Carman said the company was seeing more requests from people seeking a high-end "lock and leave" lifestyle close to shops and restaurants, with better finishes. "We heard that people were ready..." "They wanted to be able to walk, but they also wanted a high-end luxury product," he said.
Inside, 1 Riva Row has all the same features as high-rises in downtown Houston. There are concierge services, a 2,600-square-foot coworking room, a golf simulator, and a rooftop pool deck. The building has 49 floor plans, including townhomes with private street-level entrances, which is unusual for a tower, and a pavilion with a view where people can watch shows. Eighteen penthouses, advertised as the first rental penthouses in The Woodlands, are on the top floor.
For penthouses, the rent starts at $4,000. For condos, the starting price is $4,250. MRI Software's Apartment Data says that in October, the average Class A rent in the Woodlands/Conroe South area was about $1,900. Carman said the building is designed for "renters by choice," such as empty nesters, workers, and newcomers who want to see how the area is before they buy.
"We have had this project on our list for a long time." He said, "We just thought it was time." "All we did was watch the market and listen to our neighbors."
Along with the Ritz-Carlton building, 1 Riva Row marks a move toward denser, more vertical living in The Woodlands. This blends the community's long-standing forest identity with the ease of walking in downtown areas.
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