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By Charlotte Reames

As 2022 draws to a close, the city of West Point has seen development on projects like the new Housing Authority apartments, the Long Cane Creek bridge project and downtown business growth despite a slow start due to the pandemic.

“The first half of the year, of course, we were coming out of COVID and trying to get our feet back underneath us,” said Mayor Steve Tramell. “So it took a minute to do that, but it seems like things have really taken off and projects are coming in line.”

A major development of the year was the joint project between the West Point Housing Authority and Pennrose Development for an apartment complex. The construction of that project began in late November on 10th Street near the Coca-Cola Plant. 

During the first phase of construction, 72 units will be built as part of the mixed-income project. Eventually, there will be a total of 144 units to replace the outdated units in the current housing authority.

“This will be a great new partnership with a great developer, so that’s probably the biggest thing that I’m most proud of them for last year,” Tramell said. “And they’re hard at work right now on it.”

Housing has also continued to grow in 2022 at Harris Creek on the Harris County side of West Point. Tramell said he hopes that business and industrial development will encourage more people to make West Point their home.

The construction of the new bridge at Long Cane Creek also began in the summer.

“It’s going to really make a beautiful entry to our gateway,” Tramell said. 

According to the mayor, construction on one side of the bridge will be complete in the new year. The traffic will move to the new side of the bridge in January so that demolition can begin on the other side. Tramell said West Point will have its new bridge by next summer.

Improvements were also made to the MLK intersection at 10th Street during the summer. The city updated the intersection with new crossing arms, lighting and landscaping. During the summer, West Point also saw growth in infrastructure with new roundabouts. According to Tramell, they will likely be in use late next year or at the beginning of 2024.

The city has also seen an increase in businesses in downtown, which may continue in the year to come. Some of the businesses that moved to West Point this year include Sip Cafe, Purge Nation, DXE Staffing and Karvela’s Pizza.

“Downtown continues to grow with new businesses, new restaurants,” Tramell said. “That’s great for the community as a whole to have new businesses like that coming to town, and I expect more in 2023 to open.”

At the beginning of the year, a property of about 600 acres was annexed into the city. The land is across from the Frisky Whiskey on 10th Street. Eventually, the land will be host to residential, retail and commercial development, according to Tramell.

“That’ll be a long time in coming. It’s gonna be a slow process, but it’s going to be nice,” Tramell said.

As 2023 approaches, Tramell expects to see new residential, commercial and industrial growth in 2023.

“We’re very excited for the prospect of new growth in West Point in 2023,” Tramell said.