3 min read February 2024 — Joe Zimmerman, mayor of the city of Sugar Land, sat down with Invest: to discuss the big changes coming to Sugar Land as the region continues to evolve, quality of life offerings that are unique to the city, plans for future projects and more. “We will continue to see developers interested in the area,” he said. “Fort Bend County is the hotspot.”
What action items for Sugar Land have had you the busiest and most excited?
Sugar Land, Texas is undergoing several redevelopments right now. There are two projects that are the focus of the city council today, one being Imperial Sugar, the namesake for Sugar Land. We were incorporated in 1959 by the Imperial Sugar Company. The Char House was built in the early 1900s, and efforts are underway with a developer to reconstitute it into a commercial office space with a restaurant on the top floor and public space on the ground floor. It will also be part of a larger development that will amount to a total investment of $1 billion, which will include office space, retail, restaurants and bars. The waterfront property is adjacent to Oyster Creek and within proximity to Constellation Field, home to our Triple-A baseball team, the Space Cowboys.
Similarly, the Lake Pointe Redevelopment Project is also a water-centric site, located on Brooks Lake and not far from Oyster Creek. We are looking at a possible hotel conference center at this mixed-use location, which would include retail, office space, entertainment, and high-end multi-family. Additionally, the Texas legislature just passed a recent bill which allowed developers and landowners to opt out of the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a particular city and opt into another one. At the very end of 2023, we entered a strategic partnership agreement with Pulte Homes for a 1,000-acre development that will allow Sugar Land to expand beyond our current boundaries. We are no longer landlocked and can pursue other opportunities in conjunction with other cities and developers in the county.
What is unique about doing business in Sugar Land?
Sugar Land wrote the book on public-private partnerships, and we have a very diverse economic base. Our city leaders are not solely politicians; we are business people serving in elected office. We all come from different backgrounds. There are new areas for commercial and industrial development we are taking advantage of, as well as our lifestyle offerings, like our entertainment venues and museums. Sugar Land has always pursued business. We are not afraid to incentivize if it makes sense to grow businesses.
How has your budget been impacted by federal funding opportunities?
Sugar Land is fortunate to have our own redevelopment funds, but it’s a partnership effort. Our city has fostered partnerships with the county, our business community and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) to ensure secure access to financial resources that might otherwise be inaccessible. These funds have been strategically deployed to seize economic development opportunities.
We have an ad valorem property tax of 35¢ and a fairly healthy sales and use tax. Of our sales use tax dollars, portions go to a 4A and others go to a 4B. Their objectives are economic development and job creation, and we are very particular about how these funds are used. Our budget is around $360 million with a Capital Improvement Plan of $70 million. We have a five-year Capital Improvement Plan, as well, that amounts to $270 million. When breaking down the $360 million, about $110 million is our general fund, which includes police, fire, EMS, parks and recreation, and other city services.
The other piece of our budget is enterprise funds. We are very proud of our self-sustaining private airport, Sugar Land Regional Airport. It has corporate clients who, through landing fees and fuel sales, pay for the operations and capital improvements of the airport. We recently hosted a college football championship game, with several private aircrafts on our tarmac that flew in specifically for the event. This has a significant impact.
How is Sugar Land encountering and addressing challenges?
For everyone, the recent increase in interest rates poses a considerable challenge when financing large-scale redevelopment projects. Both of our key redevelopment projects are pushing $1 billion in investment over the next few years. The city of Sugar Land has taken a progressive approach to allocate tax dollars for these endeavors.
As both redevelopment projects are still in the process of securing financing, the city council and economic development staff have forged partnerships with collaborating companies, providing investment capital to propel these projects forward.
What is your outlook for the region in the near future, and how does this inform your priorities?
Sugar Land will see industrial opportunities in the future, especially the land adjacent to our airport – Tract 2. Our redevelopment projects will position Sugar Land well into the next 10, 15 and 20 years, and developers will take note of hotspots like Fort Bend County.
Different opportunities exist depending on the city you choose. We have two great school districts and the University of Houston – Sugar Land, Wharton County Junior College and Texas State Technical College.
Sugar Land is home to Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, St. Luke’s Health, and coming soon, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) MD Anderson Hospital. Our healthcare sector does not only serve Sugar Land; it serves the region, and it drives investment in life sciences and biosciences. The large UTMB facility will be adjacent to Smart Financial, which is an extraordinary opportunity to continue to place our healthcare offerings at the forefront of the region.
And in terms of lifestyle offerings, from 27 city parks to Smart Financial Center, Constellation Field and more, the options are endless for both visitors and residents. It goes without saying; life is sweet in Sugar Land.
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