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Woodforest Breaks Ground on Welcome Lodge

(Conroe, TX – Nov. 9, 2007)                       Local dignitaries helped the new Woodforest community by Johnson Development turn dirt for its Welcome Lodge, a 4,300-square-foot information center expected to open in the fall of 2008. More than 80 people attended the groundbreaking ceremonies, held Wednesday, Nov. 7 on the site of the future Welcome Lodge. Attendees included State Representative Brandon Creighton, Montgomery County Commissioner Craig Doyal, Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage, Montgomery Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jim Gibson, Ron Bourbeau and Gil Stanley with the Economic Development Partnership for South Montgomery County, Robert Marling, CEO of Woodforest National Bank, and Michael Richmond, Vice Chairman/Chief Financial Officer of Woodforest National Bank, Larry Johnson, president and Chief Executive Officer of The Johnson Development Corporation, and various Johnson Development principals as well as numerous partners and consultants working on the Woodforest development. “We wanted all of the individuals who have been instrumental in the development of Woodforest to be included in this important event,” said Woodforest general manager Virgil Yoakum,. After the groundbreaking ceremony, guests were invited to stay for a complimentary round of golf at Woodforest Golf Club, a 27-hole championship course surrounded by the 2,800-acre Woodforest community. Woodforest, which is in the preliminary stages of development, is located in Montgomery County, six miles west of Interstate 45, four miles north of The Woodlands and three miles south of FM 2854. It will be a large-scale master-planned community with a population that could approach 18,000.  The master plan provides for a community with approximately 6,000 residential units, retail and commercial properties, places of worship, on-site schools and a fire station. The heavily wooded property includes lakes and streams, and the plan incorporates green belts, nature preserves and a 27-hole golf course. By the end of 2008, 369 home sites in the first phase of the development are scheduled to be complete and ready for builders to begin construction of their model homes. Homes will be priced from the $180,000s to more than $1 million.  The architect of the Welcome Lodge is DvL Custom Concepts and the builder of the home, which overlooks the Woodforest golf course, is Southern Mark Homes. By Design Interiors is working with the builder on interior selections and Quest will design the interior displays.  Photo Information 

Photo No. 1

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Nov. 7 for the Woodforest Welcome Lodge, slated to open next fall. Pictured, left to right: Chad Johnson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Johnson Development Corporation; Montgomery County Commissioner Craig Doyal; Larry Johnson, President and CEO of The Johnson Development Corporation; Doug Goff, Senior Vice President and Director of Land Development for The Johnson Development Corporation; and Virgil Yoakum, General Manager of Woodforest Development. Photo No. 2Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Nov. 7 for the Woodforest Welcome Lodge, slated to open next fall. Pictured, left to right: Chad Johnson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Johnson Development Corporation; Larry Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Johnson Development Corporation; Susan Severa, Development Manager for Woodforest Development; Terry Reese, Office Manager for Woodforest Development; State Representative Brandon Creighton; Kristi Steward, Director of Marketing for Woodforest Development; and Virgil Yoakum, General Manager of Woodforest Development.  

About Woodforest

Woodforest, a project of The Johnson Development Corporation, is a 2,800-acre master-planned community surrounding Woodforest Golf Club, one of the top-ranked daily-fee golf courses in the Houston area. Offering a broad array of housing choices targeted to lifestyle-oriented buyers, Woodforest is slated for approximately 6,000 homes and a full complement of retail and commercial properties. Woodforest has a prime location, just four miles north of The Woodlands and three miles south of Conroe. Convenient access just six miles west of Interstate 45 will be provided by Fish Creek Thoroughfare, a new major north/south thoroughfare slated for construction in early 2008. For more information, visit www.woodforestdev.com. About The Johnson Development Corp.oration

The Johnson Development Corporation is a residential and commercial land development company involved in numerous projects including master-planned communities such as Sienna Plantation, Fall Creek, Riverstone, Woodforest, Tuscan Lakes, Edgewater, Berkshire and Silverlake in Houston, and Towne Lake, BridgeMill and Lake Arrowhead in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.johnsondev.com.