Project Wins

Sage Dulles, Ltd., an affiliate of Lovett Industrial LLC, and Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution, L.L.C. announces a new project in the City of Sugar Land in Fort Bend County. 

The new industrial development totaling more than 320,000 square feet will be built in the Sugar Land Business Park.  This is a redevelopment project of the former National Oilwell Varco site.  Lovett Industrial is a newly formed development company led by Frank Liu and Charlie Meyer and comprised of a management team with significant experience in the commercial and residential development industry

The City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

Amazon announces it plans to open its first fulfillment center in Missouri City, Texas, the second Amazon location in Fort Bend County. The new fulfillment center, which is anticipated to launch in 2021, will create over 500 new full-time jobs with industry-leading pay and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.

WetSounds and construction partner KDW announce the company is relocating to Rosenberg, Texas, in Fort Bend County.  Wet Sounds is a privately held company that was started in 2005 in Houston. The company designs and develops high end marine audio equipment, and they have expanded into powersport audio and home audio.  They design, develop, and distribute to OEMs and authorized dealers.

The company has relocated to Rosenberg in Fort Bend County and begun construction.  Their relocation and expansion includes 170,000 square foot facility with plans for additional expansion, including several speculative flex spaces. The initial project will create 50 jobs.  

The City of Rosenberg and Fort Bend County has incentivized this project.

Frito Lay announces another expansion of the facility in Rosenberg, Texas, in Fort Bend County.  Frito Lay is a leading food and snack provider with over 20 manufacturing sites in the USA, a division of PepsiCo Inc , and a Fortune 50 global food and beverage company.  The company has had a plant in Rosenberg in Fort Bend County since 1982.  Frito Lay expanded multiple times in Rosenberg, most recently in 2019 and again now on 2021. In 2019, the company added an additional snack line with new equipment and machinery and warehouse space, with a total of 140,000 square foot expansion, adding to the 470,000 existing square feet. The expansion project retained 575 jobs and infused $82 million in capital investment.

Lincoln Clean Energy, which was recently acquired by Orsted Onshore along with the parent company Lincoln Clean Energy Development, LLC, joins the family of solar power generating farms in Fort Bend County. Orsted Onshore owns and operates renewable energy, electricity generating faculties.  

The Fort Bend project is located on 6,700 acres in West Fort Bend County, and is planned to be a 400 MW capacity solar electricity generating facility.  The project will inject $440 million in capital investment into the county, and will be on land previously classified as agriculture exempt.

The Old 300 solar project is in unincorporated Fort Bend County.  Fort Bend County incentivized this project, and Needville ISD entered into a value limitation agreement with the company.

AP Solar Holdings, LLC, announces plans for a large solar power generating project in Fort Bend County.  AP Solar,  a joint venture of Avondale Solar and Plus Renewable Technologies Ltd., is a full service, utility -scale solar power project developer. 

The AP Solar project is another largescale solar project in the county, one of four in the last 18 months totaling over $1 billion in capital investment.  The project will reside in a Reinvestment Zone near Guy, Texas in western Fort Bend County on 3,600 acres. Initial capital investment (for the single phase project) is $382 million.

The AP Solar project is located in unincorporated Fort Bend County.  Fort Bend County incentivized this project, and Needville ISD and Wharton County Junior College entered into a value limitation agreement with the JV.

 Amazon and Trammell Crow Company (TCC), one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the United States announce construction is under way on a state-of-the-art e-commerce fulfillment facility in Richmond, Texas. The building, located on 93.5 acre sat 10507 Harlem Road, will have an 825,000-square-foot footprint and is expected to bring 1,000 jobs to the local community. The facility is set to go live before the peak season in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Ware Malcomb is the project’s architect of record, while Graycor Construction Company, Inc. is serving as the general contractor. Engineering partners on the project include HSA & Associates, Langan Engineering and Jordon & Skala Engineers. The Harrington Group, Inc. is providing fire protection design.  Tony Patronella and Jeanie Gibbs with Read King represented the seller of the development site. Stephen Schneidau of Cushman & Wakefield and Matt O’Brien of KBC Advisors represented the land purchaser.

The Richmond Amazon location is in unincorporated Fort Bend County.

WattBridge Energy, LLC (“WattBridge”) announces the development of the Braes BayouPower Station developed by WattBridge (as owner) and engineered and constructed by ProEnergy.  WattBridge is a Houston, Texas based firm responsible for the development and operation of peaker power solutions enabling renewable energy growth. 

The Braes Bayou project in Fort Bend County is a 288 MW natural gas-fired power generation facility, powered by 6XLM6000 gas turbine packages designed and built by ProEnergy, that will provide electricity to the Texas grid during critical peak periods. The power generating plant supports the growth of renewable solar and wind power sources.

The Braes Bayou project is located in unincorporated Fort Bend County. Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

Si Environmental

A joint venture of Transwestern Development Co. and Diamond Realty Investments has announced plans to develop  a 20.8 acre parcel in Sugar Land, Texas in Fort Bend County for speculative warehouse/distribution property called Sugar Land Crossroads. The site will consist of two buildings, totally  326,792 square feet. 

The city of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

Accredo Packaging, Inc. announces its third expansion in Sugar Land, Texas in Fort Bend County. Accredo Packaging is a multi-national manufacturing enterprise, privately-owned.  Accredo manufactures sustainable flexible packing and high barrier film solutions for a wide range of products.  Accredo came to Sugar Land/Fort Bend County in 2009.  

The company has expanded through 68.......three phases of development in Sugar Land Business Park.  This latest expansion, completed March 2020, is 200,000 sf of additional warehouse and manufacturing space on the 32-acre campus, totally 500,000 square feet of LEED certified space with a total capital investment of over $120 million and 525 jobs. 

The company’s modern and innovative facilities reflect its products and values, utilizing 100% wind-generated electrical power as well as processes designed to eliminate waste and minimize carbon footprint.

Both the City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

Dollar Tree announces a new distribution in the City of Rosenberg, Texas, in Fort Bend County. Dollar Tree is a Fortune 500 company, and is the largest and most successful single point retailer in North America, with more than 15,000 retail outlets.  Needing access to rail, an interstate highway, and regional port, Dollar Tree selected Rosenberg, in Fort Bend, for one of their expansion projects in 2019.  Rosenberg is home to three Class I rail lines, Interstate 69, and easy access to Port Freeport down Highway 36A.  

Dollar Tree opened 1.2 million square foot distribution center in 2020, totally $165 million capital investment. The company opened with more than 500 new jobs.

Dollar Tree’s expansion resulted in utilities lines being down Interstate 69. The City of Rosenberg invested millions of dollars to extend utilities (water and sewer), worked with CenterPoint to ensure power capacity, and later annexed the property, making the area in and around the Dollar Tree facility shovel ready, adding more marketable property to the developing region. 

The City of Rosenberg and Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

Lend Lease announces two solar projects in fort Bend County. LendLease, based in Australia, is an international, fully integrated property and infrastructure group. 

The first of two mega-sized solar panel generation facilities LendLease developed in Fort Bend County, Fort Bend Solar, sits on a 1,800 acre Reinvestment Zone on Tavener Road and US Highway 90 in West Fort Bend County.  

The solar panel farm is a $250 million capital investment, with power output of approximately 200 MW, enough to power 40,000 homes.  Solar energy is cheaper, clean energy source that supports the county’s commercial and residential communities alike.

The second Lend Lease Project, Cutlas Solar, is in south central Fort Bend near FM 361 and Fm 1994.  This project sits in a Reinvestment Zone of almost 3,700 acres.  This is a massive project, one of the largest in the nation.  

The project is expected to total more than $307 million in capital investment, adding significant value to the county tax rolls. The power generated from Cutlas Solar is expected to  reach almost 360 MW.

Both projects are located on land that was designated Agriculture Exempt, bringing the tax value up to market value.

Both projects are in unincorporated Fort Bend County. The county incentivized these projects. For Cutlas Solar, the area school district agreed to a value limitation incentive as well.  

Privately held Heavy Construction Systems Specialists (HCSS) announces another expansion.  HCSS came to Sugar Land, in Fort Bend County, in 2009 with less than 100 employees. The software development company has since had three expansions, the most recent completed in 2020.  HCSS develops software solutions to the construction industry and has been named the “Google” of Fort Bend County with their employee friendly campus which includes dog kennels, gyms, virtual wellness and healthcare programs, and flexible schedules. The company now has 300 employees and is expected to add 200 members to their team.

The HCSS complex sits on 12 acres in the Sugar Land Business Park. Their most recent expansion added 58,500 square feet with $12 million in capital investment, bringing their total campus to 120,000 square feet.

The City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County incentivized this project.

The Katy Boardwalk District is a public private partnership engaged in developing an 80-acre project that will include 650 modern loft residences, 145,000 square feet of commercial space, 60,000 square feet of Class A office space, and a Four Star 300 room hotel and conference center

The Fort Bend EDC worked with area partners  to create a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone to assist with the new thriving Katy Mills Mall project.  This TIRZ has been extended to continue this partnership with the City of Katy, the developer, and Fort Bend County.  This project is under development.

The GRID, a bustling Mixed Use Center in Stafford in Fort Bend County, is located in the former Texas Instruments campus in Stafford . The 192 acres will eventually include more than 350,000 square feet of shops, restaurants, and entertainment, 500,000 square feet of creative-focused office space, and 2,400 urban residences. This project is well underway and continuing to grow through 2020.

Public private partners worked on this project, including StreetLevel (the developer), the East Fort Bend Development Authority, WCID No. 2, the City of Stafford, and Fort Bend County.  The Fort Bend EDC assisted in the development of the local government corporation and incentive agreements between multiple parties.