KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Construction has started on a massive shopping complex in Katy, Waller County that will include stores, restaurants, apartments and office space.
The Texas Heritage Marketplace, a $400 million development will be anchored by a 149,000 square foot Target store.
The project covers 165 acres along Interstate 10 and the new Texas Heritage Parkway. Once complete, it will feature 750,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, two apartment communities with 550 units, medical offices and storage facilities.
“After all these years of work, we couldn’t be happier to kick off Texas Heritage Marketplace with a great anchor like Target,” says Austin Alvis, president and chief development officer of Houston-based NewQuest. “We are presently working with a variety of leading retailers and restaurateurs to procure the best possible mix for the project. We look forward to announcing additional anchors and tenants soon.”
The developer, NewQuest, spent nearly 10 years planning the project, waiting for population growth in an area now ranked among Texas’s most livable cities. Construction began after the completion of Texas Heritage Parkway and securing enough tenant commitments.
The development will serve an area of about 147,000 people within five miles, where household incomes average $163,000 annually. The area has seen its population jump 56% since 2020, with 4,683 homes already built and 13,600 more planned.
At the center of the development stands what NewQuest calls the largest tree ever relocated in the Houston area — a heritage oak saved from the parkway’s construction path.
“We wanted to invest in preserving this Heritage oak and make the project a gathering space for the community,” Alvis said. “This project has been a major collaboration with the City of Katy, Waller County and Texas Heritage Parkway Association which was responsible for developing Texas Heritage Parkway. We thank them all for their support to get us to this point.”
To save taxpayers millions of dollars, Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers secured free land for Texas Heritage Parkway by showing property owners how the new north-south corridor, from FM 1093 to I-10 would boost their land values. The land owners were convinced to donate the property to build the parkway which is designed to ease traffic on Highway 99, by providing an additional north-south corridor. It’s a unique roadway. To keep traffic flowing smoothly the parkway uses numerous roundabouts instead of traffic signals.
The owner of Covering Katy News is employed by the Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner’s Office.