Category: Lake Conroe Area News

What started as a small pop-up in downtown Conroe for the 2023 holiday season has become a retail space with nearly 70 small-business vendors and a coffee service. 
Conroe Collective in the State Hotel building is under new ownership and has rebranded as The Collective in Downtown Conroe. 
Here’s what to know about the spot and its refresh:
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How it started 
Conroe business owner Farralyn Withrow launched the Holiday Pop Up Shop at 213 North Thompson in November 2023. 
At the start of the new year the space in the old State Hotel building transitioned to Conroe Collective featuring 20-plus small-business vendors from across Montgomery County. 
The former hotel building is owned by Rodney Pool who also owns The Corner Pub in downtown Conroe. The two-story, 37-room State Hotel at the northwest corner of Thompson and Metcalf streets, was constructed in 1932. It operated as a hotel through the 1980s. 
In the 2000s, the property was bought by Pool. Now there is retail space on the bottom floor and apartments on the top floors. 
Justine Frost was one of the retailers with a booth in Conroe Collective.
She started with Mimi’s Mums, her business for homecoming mums and high-school spirit items. She had most recently lived in Florida but when Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022 her family came to the Montgomery area where her sister lives. 
In addition to her booth, she began to spruce up the booths around her too. In the spring, she took on full ownership and the collective space for small-business vendors has grown to 68 spots. 
‘Something for everybody’
“There really is something for everybody here,” she said. “We have so many products I am so proud of.” The different rooms of the former hotel feature different themes. 
The space has vintage furniture, colorful Mexican pottery with one-of-a-kind colors, a men’s room with vintage tools, hats, boots, artwork and woodworking, a pantry of local food items, a children’s room with clothing, toys and accessories, bath items, a lady’s boutique room, vintage koozies and a spirit room for local sports teams including Astros gear and university and high-school gear. 
“When people are spending time in here (the game-day room) they’re spending time in here and digging and touching and feeling,” she said. “You can hear them digging through things and to me that’s the best compliment.” 
Frost said nearly all the sellers are from Montgomery County. 
Withrow, owner of the vintage Western wear boutique Small Town Famous, also has a booth in the store. 
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Coffee addition 
Urban Grinds Coffee Company which launched earlier in the year is the coffee vendor for the shop. The coffee stand inside The Collective in Downtown Conroe has a variety of espresso drinks, London Fog, matcha and chai teas and specialty drinks like Brown Sugar Lovers, The Tiger, Rosemary Honey and Butterfly Lemonade. They have six homemade syrups as well. 
Bakery items are coming soon. 
Transition and hours 
The space is currently transitioning from summer themes to fall themes. The Conroe High section of spirit items will expand in the lobby as a part of the fall transition. 
It’s open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

After major renovations this year and in 2023, Montgomery County’s hospital for 40 years will open later this month as the senior-living community Landmark 301. 
The historic building on Conroe’s First Street was redeveloped by Kansas-based Overland Property Group. Efficiency, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units are now available for lease with the first residents scheduled to move in later this month. 
“I’m delighted that the 1938 county hospital has been repurposed as senior apartments to continue its service to Conroe and Montgomery County,” said Larry Foerster, chairman of the Montgomery County Historical Commission. “The preservation of the old hospital helps restore the early legacy of what was the residential center of Conroe 100 years ago. We hope that others will see the value in preserving historic structures rather than demolishing them.”
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Senior-living apartments
The former hospital space has been converted into 47 senior-living units meant for those 55 and older that will take up the entirety of the building according to Overland Property Group Director of Development April Engstrom. 
The units feature a kitchen, living-room area, bedroom, bathroom, washer/dryer hookups and secure entrances. The efficiency space is roughly 573 square foot, the one-bedroom unit is approximately 700 square foot and the two-bedroom unit is around 1,000 square foot. A floor plan is available at the Landmark 301 website. 
Community amenities include a library, community room, fitness center and activity room. 
A grand opening with tours will take place at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 27 at 301 S. First Street. Engstrom said 10 units are pre-leased.
See the Landmark 301 website to fill out an availability form or call 346-595-9555 for leasing information. 
Building’s history as a hospital
Montgomery County Hospital, the first public hospital in the region, opened in 1938.
The 35-bed facility, located on First Street in Conroe, replaced the privately owned Mary Swain Sanitarium that provided health care during the 1920s and into the Depression era.
The hospital was expanded in 1953 to include more beds and again in 1967 when new patient wings, an x-ray center, labs and an emergency room were added. 
The 1970s brought a major change to medicine in Conroe with the opening of Doctor’s Hospital. The 104-bed hospital was attached to Dr. Deane Sadler’s clinic, and opened in 1971 across the street from Conroe High School.
The county hospital closed in the late 1970s and the hospital complex now known as HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe began to take shape on the city’s south side in the early 1980s. 
A long-vacant space 
After its closure, the building sat idle for some time due to the cost of remodeling and the removal of asbestos. In 2013, the nonprofit East Texas Dream Center purchased the old hospital for its headquarters to serve those in need in the community. 
The nonprofit operated there until May 2018 when an electrical fire shuttered the building and city officials deemed it unsafe to occupy. It was vacant from mid-2018 through its renovation in spring 2023. 
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New life for the building
In early 2021, Brett Johnson with Overland Property Group gave a presentation to the Conroe City Council laying out his plans to redevelop the property seeking affordable housing tax credits from the government to complete the project. The project did not get picked up for 2021, but $13.5 million in funding was cleared in 2022. 
She said the $13.5 million represents about 70% of the cost to complete the project. The other 30% is made up from a construction loan and a permanent loan similar to a mortgage. 
The property group has also revamped several structures into affordable living apartments including the Tabor Grand Hotel in Colorado, a historic structure in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas and the H.D. Lee Mercantile Lofts from the old Lee jeans company in Kansas. 
The group is also rehabbing historic buildings in Abilene, Texas and San Angelo, Texas currently. 
Construction began in April 2023.
Preserving some original features
The group also worked with the Texas Historical Commission and the structure has secured a place on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year. Because of this designation, developers take care to retain some of the building’s original features. 
For example she said, the flooring must remain similar to that of the hospital’s floor so it would not be possible to use hardwood flooring in the apartments. The windows were also of concern. 
“You have to replace the windows with something that his historically accurate or replicate the ones the property was originally built with,” she said. 
Engstrom called this one of their most-involved rehabs due to environmental concerns with asbestos, mold, animal waste and lead-based paint. 
“It was in really rough shape,” she said of the building’s original condition. “There was a lot of water damage so of course there was a lot of mold. On historic buildings especially, the environmental review is a really big piece of the renovation. We put a lot of time and resources into environmental abatement on this one.” 

The “Dog Days of August” are upon us and Hubba! Is it hot and sticky or what? 
The North Shore Animal League America, the world’s largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, has named August 1st of each year “Dogust Day”, as a designated universal birthday for shelter animals whose actual birthdates are unknown.  So what better month to have a party to honor and support those darling and deserving rescue animals? 
On Saturday August 10th our wonderful folks of The 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club will host our annual “Dog (and Cat) Days of August” House Party at the beautiful lakeside home of Marie and Dave Underdown. The price of admission is items to stock the supply shelves of  SPCA*PETS*SNAP for their no-kill fostering program, everything from pet food to wipes to feeding bottles. The list of needs is long and we do our best each year to fill the shelves to overflowing. 
Our House Parties, unlike our Happy Hours, are not open to the public. But, if you are a member of any Parrot Head Club you’re included, as are invited guests of any club member. The more the merrier we say, especially when we’re doing good deeds for our community. And if you’re a friend of Marie’s, call her – she’ll add you to her invite list for sure. 
This party is not only a wonderful donation event for SPCA*PETS*SNAP, but a great get-together too. We all bring a dish – the food is spectacular, no exaggeration – and the entertainment is…..shall we say hysterical. There is Karaoke, led by Marie, who always gets to do the first song of the evening, “Brown Eyed Girl”, as Dave cringes in the corner. She follows her number with “come on up – it can’t get any worse” which is such a sweet ice breaker. And it works; there’s a line of people waiting to sing. There’s always some surprising talent too. 
A House Party like this is a perfect blend of the PHIP (Parrot Heads in Paradise) motto of “Party with a Purpose” and Jimmy’s wish that we keep the party, and the community service work, going after his passing. In our world, he hasn’t died; he’s just left the stage and passed the torch. 
Speaking of talent and performing, The 5OCP is excited to be bringing Trop Rock Artist John McDonald to 202 Main on August 9th. Yes, that’s the night before Marie and Dave’s House Party. We don’t sleep much and never miss an opportunity to enjoy some great music. Tehehe.        
John and his lovely Donna live on the East Coast of Florida and he performs a wonderful mix of reggae, rock, calypso and island rhythms, making him a favorite in our Parrot Head world. 
John is always on the top of the TRMA (Trop Rock Music Association) nominee/award list each year. He really loves the intimacy of house concerts and small venues, so he is a perfect fit for the very cool 202 Main venue. There’s no cover charge, and there will be lots of happy hour drink specials and bar bite. He’ll play from 5-8 p.m. Come on out, bring your friends, and join the fun. John will have you grooving and moving. What a great wait to start a weekend, eh? 
Kris is President of The 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club, the PHC of the Lake Conroe/Woodlands area. Email  KrisCommService@aol.com or text 713 825-0141. Follow the club on Facebook at www.facebook.com/5OClockPhlock. For more info, visit the website www.5oclockphlock.com.