Plans were unveiled at the Katy Area EDC General Assembly meeting on Tuesday August 12 by Clay Development & Construction for the development of two new business parks and construction of a 148,000 sq. ft. industrial spec building west of the Katy city limits. Clay Development has acquired the Stonegate Business Park (Stonegate) located east of Pederson Road between I-10 and US 90 and a 175 acre rail-served tract located north of US 90.

Clay Business Development Manager Charlie Christ made the presentation at the meeting. “We are developing Stonegate with a focus on distribution space from 17,500 sq. ft. to 148,000 sq. ft. on parcels from three to 25 acres and a total of 40 acres are available,” noted Christ. (more…)

July 27, 2008, 10:59PM
2008 Houston Chronicle

The Houston-Galveston Area Council will hold five public meetings in August to explain the four new “managed lanes” that will open in October in the middle of the Katy Freeway.

The lanes will be open to high-occupancy vehicles and buses for free during rush hours and to toll-paying drivers at any time. In other places, the arrangement is called High Occupancy Toll, or HOT, lanes.

The meetings start at 6 p.m.:

•Aug. 14: Kendall Branch Library, 14330 Memorial, Houston
•Aug. 19: Katy Elementary School cafeteria, 5726 George Bush, Katy
•Aug. 21: Memorial Church of Christ, 900 Echo, Houston
•Aug. 26: Cinco Ranch Library, 2620 Commercial Center, Katy
•Aug. 28: Heights Branch Library, 1302 Heights Blvd., Houston

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Katy residents looking to help save the environment by recycling their soda cans and milk jugs have a new location to drop off their materials.

The city has placed a large green-and-yellow container from Abitibi Bowater for aluminum and plastic recycling at the back corner of the Social Services building, 905 Ave. C. Two other containers for paper recycling are also available at the same location.

The city of Katy does not offer curbside recycling, said Jamie Wolman, community specialist for the city’s parks department.

“We are hoping this effort will be an indication of how interested our citizens are in recycling,” said Wolman, adding that the recycling effort is a pilot program.

In addition, residents can now recycle outdated phone books through a partnership between Abitibi, Consolidated Communications, Wal-Mart and Keep Katy Beautiful.

A paper recycler has been placed on the northeast corner of the Katy Mills Wal-Mart parking lot and will be available until Sept. 1.

For information, call 281-391-4726.

July 16, 2008, 6:18PM

A new upscale outdoor mall featuring national and local retailers is headed to the Katy area. Simon Property Group, the owners of Katy Mills Mall, is planning to build a 1.1-million-square-foot mall on the north side of the Katy Freeway near the Grand Parkway and Mason Road.

According to plans on the company’s Web site, www.simon.com, the first phase of the mall development will feature an open-air, town center-type of shopping center.

Scheduled to open in 2012, the outdoor mall will include traditional and fashion department stores, big-box stores, specialty retailers and restaurants.

Officials have not said when construction will begin.

Katy-area economic leaders expect KBR project to spur growth
Engineering company plans campus at I-10, Texas 99

By HELEN ERIKSEN
Chronicle Correspondent

Local business leaders are upbeat after KBR’s recent announcement that it would develop a campus in the Katy area, because they say it would generate new jobs, boost the economy and put Katy on the map.

During a meeting of the Katy Area Economic Development Council Tuesday, members praised Lance LaCour, council chief executive officer, for his guidance, leadership and effort in sealing the deal.

“I just can’t tell you how big an event this is for the community,” said council chairman Woody Mann. “I want to publicly acknowledge Lance and everything he did in that effort.”

The global engineering and construction company disclosed details of the development to the public in a recent press release. (more…)

May 15, 2008, 12:28AM

Officials with the Texas Children’s West Campus will break ground today on the new West Houston/Katy hospital.

The $220-million, 490,000-square-foot medical complex will be built on 55 acres at Barker Cypress Road and the Katy Freeway.

Texas Children’s is building the medical facility in response to rapid growth in the Katy area.

The project’s first phase is an outpatient building scheduled to open spring/summer 2010 and will offer 15 pediatric specialty services.

The project’s second phase, scheduled to open fall/winter 2010, is an inpatient facility which will include a pediatric emergency room, 48 inpatient beds, surgical suites, and advanced imaging services.

In subsequent phases, 48 in-patient beds will be added.

By ZEN T.C. ZHENG
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Fort Bend County officials Tuesday approved the designs and project cost estimates for the expansion of three Katy-area roads despite two county commissioners’ concerns that the prices far exceed what voters had approved.

The three roads — Greenbusch, Katy-Flewellen and Katy-Gaston — are among 47 projects in the $156 million mobility bond package voters supported in May 2007.

Of those, 27 are in unincorporated areas and coordinated by the county, and the rest in the jurisdiction of municipalities. Ron Drachenberg, assistant county engineer, said the three Katy-area roads are among 17 county-sponsored projects under contract for design.

The expansion would rebuild a 2.7-mile segment of Greenbusch from Falcon Landing to Pin Oak, a 1.5-mile stretch of Katy-Flewellen from Katy-Gaston to Pin Oak, and a 1.7-mile section of Katy-Gaston from Cinco Ranch Boulevard to FM 1093 — all currently two-lane country roads with open ditches — as four-lane boulevards with divided medians, curbs and gutters. (more…)

May 1, 2008, 9:52AM

Retail center, rehabilitation facility and hotel set to open in ‘08

By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent

As the city of Katy continues to attract more families and tourists, new businesses are responding to the population growth, and several construction projects are under way.

A retail center, a new nursing and rehabilitation center and the city’s second hotel are expected to open this year.

Plans are also in place to construct more business and professional buildings along the perimeter of Katy Mills mall, a hotspot for commercial growth. (more…)

New 90,000-Square Foot Facility Will be Located along Energy Corridor
From the Katy Economic Development Council

(Houston, Texas – April 11, 2008) Duke Realty Corporation (Duke) announced that Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a Norwegian-based engineering company that provides risk management and asset maintenance/enhancement consulting to the energy and maritime industries, has commissioned Duke to develop a 90,000-square foot Class A office building in the Katy submarket for its Houston operations.

The two-story building will be located between Mason Road and Grand Parkway, one-half mile from I-10, or Katy Freeway. DNV’s new Katy-area facility will shorten the commute for their employees and, with the recently completed improvements to I-10, DNV will still be conveniently located to their energy-related customers in the Energy Corridor. (more…)

Medical facility to be built near Texas Children’s proposed complex

By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Houston Chronicle Correspondent

Construction is expected to begin this month on the Methodist West Houston Hospital that is being built to serve a growing Katy-area population.

“We want to be able to bring the greatest health-care services to the west Houston market,” said Wayne Voss, vice president of community operations and development for the Methodist Hospital System.

Voss presented plans for the $300 million, 192-bed hospital and medical campus at the Katy Area Economic Development Council’s general assembly meeting Tuesday.

“Katy is developing quite a reputation as a medical area,” said Woody Mann Jr., board chairman of the Katy Area EDC. “We’ll be, I think, well-equipped with some quality hospitals.”

Strong demographics, an increasing population, ideal location and wide service area are reasons hospital officials cited in deciding to build the 500,000-square-foot hospital along the north side of the Katy Freeway between Barker Cypress and Greenhouse roads.

Hospital officials plan to have a formal topping-off ceremony next spring. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2010. (more…)