CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News)—The Katy City Council voted Monday to change a residential zoning designation to enable the creation of a 46-acre mixed-use commercial development at the northwest corner of Morton Road and Katy Hockley Cut-Off Road.
The Green at Katy Park will sit directly south of the Heritage Park West subdivision and will be situated directly across Katy Hockley Cut-Off from the HEB grocery store at 24924 Morton Ranch Road. Morton Ranch Road becomes Morton Road after passing through the Katy Hockley Cut-Off intersection.
Mayor Dusty Thiele said the developer, Read King Commercial Real Estate of Houston, originally planned to build the HEB at the Green at Katy Park site, but the city rejected that application. However, the city’s planning and zoning commission, at its Oct. 8 meeting, recommended approval of the Green at Katy Park proposal, setting the stage for Monday’s council vote.
Jeff Read, a partner with Read King, described the HEB development as a very difficult acquisition and a tough sell. He said his firm looks at underserved markets in the Houston area.
“There’s a lot of growth going on here,” Read said, adding that the Katy Prairie he hunted on as a young man is not the Katy Prairie of today. “The question is, where do I buy groceries? Where do I eat? Where do I get my nails done? Where do I get my hair done?”
The land will be developed in two phases. The first phase will include five sub-areas, which will have two medical office buildings and a restaurant, among other tenants. The first phase will also include a 9.7-acre retention pond.
The second phase will include the other two sub-areas. Plans for those two sub-areas remain in development, but one goal is to install a water tower monument in this area. Jeff Read showed some examples of what that water tower monument might look like, but no final design has been approved. The site will include two entrances and exits onto Katy Hockley Cut-Off Road and one onto Morton Road.
The Green at Katy Park site will be inside the city limits. The HEB store is not.
The measure, which changed the zoning from residential to planned development district, passed on a 3-2 vote. Ward A Council Members Dan Smith and Janet Corte, along with Ward B Council Member Gina Hicks, voted for the measure. Council Member-at-Large and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris and Ward B Council Member Rory Robertson voted against it.
Smith, Corte, and Hicks all said they thought the project would be good for Katy. Harris, meanwhile, said he voted against the proposal because of concerns about the commercial expansion down Morton Road.
“I think the Phase 1 at the corner is going to be a terrific project for the City of Katy,” Harris said. “The unknown Phase 2 is my only concern for the residents in the area. Whenever we go from changing residential to commercial development, I definitely want to see ahead of time what we’re getting because an unknown is not a good reason to change.”
Robertson said he voted against the proposal in response to public opposition to the development. He said several residents have contacted him with concerns about the noise and traffic that would come to the area with the new development.
Read said his firm has worked with both the city council and city staff for about a year and a half on the project.
“I understand there are concerns about traffic,” Read said. “I understand there are concerns about congestion or light pollution, all that. They have addressed all that with us, and so we have taken an approach to mitigate all that and be a good partner with this community.”
Read King Commercial Real Estate/City of Katy
The conceptual plan for The Green at Katy Park, a development that is being planned for the northwest corner of Morton Road and Katy Hockley Cut-Off Road.