The so-called Imperial Sugar Co. redevelopment project in Sugar Land could consist of up to 1,619 homes on 234 acres, 27 acres of commercial retail space, 36 acres of office or light industrial space and 46 acres devoted to a mix of uses surrounding Imperial’s historic sugar plant.
Those are highlights culled from a long-awaited general plan submitted to the City of Sugar Land by Cherokee Investment Partners, the developer working with the state of Texas to redevelop 650 acres including the historic Imperial Sugar Co. property on U.S. 90A.
Cherokee discussed its development concepts for the property in a meeting Tuesday before the Sugar Land Planning & Zoning Commission – the first step on a journey through the city’s zoning process, which will determine the exact mix of land uses and the final character of what could become a major focal point in the city.
Bounded by U.S. 90A to the south, State Highway 6 to the west, Kempner High School and a tract of land owned by the Texas Department of Transportation on the north, and by Burney Drive on the east, the property includes several hundred acres known as Tract 3, owned by the Texas General Land Office, and about 220 acres Cherokee expects to buy from Imperial Sugar, including an historic sugar refinery and char house. Cherokee is partnering with the state land office in the project.
“Cherokee will clean and transform this area into an attractive, vibrant community by creatively mixing land uses, providing significant open space and other amenities, and implementing design standards to achieve excellence in the built environment,” the developer said in an introduction to its general plan.
“Rarely is a community presented with a project that will promote historic preservation, environmental remediation and economic development on the scale proposed in this redevelopment. Cherokee believes that this project represents a historic opportunity for the City of Sugar Land and is committed to ensuring that the community is proud of the work that is done.”
Connecting The Heart
Cherokee describes development on about 45 acres surrounding the historic Imperial buildings as “the heart of this development project,” which would be converted into “a historic themed mixed-use development centered on the eight-story Char House,
which will be preserved and redeveloped.”
But connecting the project’s heart, the majority of the project’s acreage and the rest of the city has proved to be a challenge.
University Boulevard was originally to have extended across U.S. 90A to become a key entryway to the project, and especially to the historic mixed-use center. However, as FortBendNow reported last month, Imperial Sugar mistakenly believed it owned a piece of property including the proposed University Boulevard entry. But due diligence in preparation for the sale of land to Cherokee revealed that portion of the property actually is owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
While there has been speculation that the revelation about Union Pacific’s ownership would stall the project, Cherokee said in its general plan that it is working with the railroad, Imperial Sugar Co. and the city to find a way to still allow the northward extension of University Boulevard.
“Cherokee has been successful in complying with the spirit of the (city’s) Thoroughfare Plan by linking the development directly to Highway 90 and as a result improving the overall traffic situation surrounding the redevelopment,” Cherokee said in the general plan. “Additionally, the developer will preserve right-of-way for the extension of University in the event that it becomes feasible after the project is begun.”
Adjusting To New Reality
Drawings submitted as part of the general plan show Cherokee has adjusted the project significantly since it was conceived in early 2005.
Originally, acreage owned by Imperial that surrounds the Nalco Chemical plant on U.S. 90A was to have been part of the project, and early drawings showed much of it as a major commercial development. However, that land no longer is part of the redevelopment, and instead appears to be intended to serve as a buffer between the chemical plant and 45 acres of residential dwellings across Oyster Creek.
Also, original drawings showed significantly more commercial development along Highway 6, while 40 acres or so are now shown as residential areas. And, about 25 acres originally shown as reserved for single-family housing near the project’s northern boundary now is being preserved as a park and wetlands.
After surveying the land, and recognizing that flood elevations are likely to change as the result of a study by local governments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cherokee learned that more of the property’s acreage falls within the Oyster Creek flood plain than originally thought.
Plans For Parks
Open space – parks, wetlands, Oyster Creek and retention lakes – now make up about 39% of the project’s acreage, according to the general plan, which Cherokee said represents 220 acres more open space than required by the city’s development code. That open space will afford opportunities for hiking and biking.
“Pedestrial circulation and connectivity is a key feature of the development,” the general plan states. “This will be a pedestrian-oriented, walkable community, providing residents and visitors with safe opportunities to walk and bike.”
A trail system will connect residential communities with a “city-wide” park, neighborhood parks, Oyster Creek Park, lakes, wetlands a a recreation center. A “semi-public” park and 6-foot-wide interpretive trail is anticipated along the majority of the project acreage fronting Oyster Creek.
The Residential Mix
At the project’s northern edge, instead of the originally planned housing, Cherokee “envisons a large City of Sugar Land park including a 39-acre pristine, undisturbed wetland. This park could facilitate various recreational activities including interpretive trails, boardwalks, bird watching platforms, exercise stations and ponds.”
Northeast of the historic mixed-use portion of the project, connected by a bridge across Oyster Creek, will be attached and detached single-family housing on “small to intermediate sized lots” built in traditional city “block depths,” the general plan says. “Street facades in this district will resemble single-family homes or street-oriented townhome elevations.”
A 100-foot-wide buffer zone exists across Oyster Creek from the existing Mayfield Park neighborhood, in which no attached housing could be built, according to Cherokee’s general plan. But in the interior of the area, the developer plans “mid-rise residential that will take advantage of views to the lake/detention system.”
Further north, housing density decreases “to a more typical single-family residential development,” the plan states. “These neighborhoods, designated as Lakes Village, will be centered on a series of detention lakes and open space.”
