BROOKSHIRE, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Another major industrial development aimed at attracting employers, investment and future jobs is taking shape west of Katy as Houston-based National Property Holdings has broken ground on Katy Prairie Business Park, a two-building project that will add more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse and distribution space to one of the fastest-growing areas for jobs and business development in the Houston region.
The development will be built in two phases on an 87-acre site at 500 and 700 Igloo Road, just north of Interstate 10 and across from Igloo Products' headquarters in Brookshire.
Phase I includes a 402,480-square-foot building, while Phase II will add another 680,940 square feet, bringing the project's total size to 1,083,420 square feet.
"With best-in-class design, direct freeway exposure and a business-friendly environment, the project is ideally positioned to attract leading manufacturing, engineering and logistics users seeking a strategic location in West Houston," National Property Holdings CEO Michael Plank said.
Construction is beginning before tenants have been found because the developer expects companies will want to locate there. The buildings will feature high ceilings, large paved loading areas where tractor-trailers can maneuver, and parking for trucks waiting to load or unload cargo.
National Property Holdings previously developed the neighboring 59,832-square-foot Domino's Pizza distribution center, which supplies restaurants throughout the region.
National Property Holdings
A site plan shows the layout of Katy Prairie Business Park along Igloo Road in Brookshire. The development will include two new industrial buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet.
Part of a much larger story
Katy Prairie Business Park is the latest in a series of major commercial and industrial projects transforming the Interstate 10 corridor between Katy and Brookshire.
About five miles south of the site, construction is underway on Texas Heritage Marketplace, a $400 million mixed-use development at Interstate 10 and Texas Heritage Parkway that is expected to bring Target, Sam's Club, Lowe's Home Improvement, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Burlington, Ulta Beauty, Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods, restaurants, medical offices and other businesses to the area.
The corridor has also attracted major employers including Igloo Products, Goya Foods, Tesla's Megapack battery factory, Amazon, Costco, H-E-B, Medline and Ferguson.
Together, those investments have helped transform what was once largely open prairie into one of the Houston area's fastest-growing employment centers.
National Property Holdings
This map shows the location of Katy Prairie Business Park along Igloo Road in Brookshire, near Interstate 10 and several major employers, including Igloo Products, Goya Foods, Amazon and Costco.
Years of planning behind today's growth
Local economic development leaders say that transformation did not happen by accident.
Earlier this summer, the Waller County Economic Development Partnership unveiled its "Waller County Forward: The Inland Gateway to the Future of Texas" initiative, a long-term strategy to capitalize on the area's transportation network and attract more employers.
The corridor offers direct access to Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 90, rail service and Houston Executive Airport, giving companies multiple ways to move products and reach customers.
"What we have done here, we have done on purpose and with purpose," WCEDP Executive Director Vince Yokom told Covering Katy during the initiative's announcement.
Why projects like this matter
Projects like Katy Prairie Business Park do more than add new buildings.
As companies move into developments like these, they create jobs, invest in the local economy and pay property taxes that help support schools, roads and other public services. Economic development leaders have long said that adding more employers is important to keeping pace with the rapid population growth in western Fort Bend County and eastern Waller County.
Founded in 1999, National Property Holdings has developed industrial projects throughout Texas and Louisiana, including AmeriPort Industrial Park in Baytown, Alamo Junction near San Antonio and SouthPoint Business Park in Houston.
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