Sugar Land - Missouri City Edition | March 2023

To stay in step with Houston’s initiative to transform the energy industry, the Energy Corridor Management District launched its Redening Energy campaign in November. This initiative will add more mixed-use developments to attract new tenants and provide amenities for the business district. Refreshed landscape MORTON RD . N. ELDRIDGE PKWY. PATTERSON RD.

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Regional draw Data shows more than 8,700 workers from Sugar Land and Missouri City ZIP codes commute to the Energy Corridor daily.

campaign is led by the Energy Cor- ridor Management District, which funds maintenance and beautication projects in the corridor, such as infra- structure upgrades, public safety and security, and mobility. The rebrand will invest in proj- ects to accommodate workers with hybrid schedules and attract tenants outside of the oil and gas industry to maintain the Energy Corridor’s posi- tion as a critical economic hub, said Elijah Williams, executive director of the management district. “Employees have to eat; they need dry cleaners and coee places, they need services with beauticians and dentists, they need places to stay—it all has an eect that is tied to the job opportunities located here in the Energy Corridor,” Williams said. Moreover, many people who work in the Energy Corridor live in the sur- rounding suburban area; 2022 data from the Texas Workforce Commission showed more than 8,700 Sugar Land- and Missouri City-area residents work in the corridor. Notable tenants The Energy Corridor is composed of oce space, dining and retail, and parks and open space. It is also home to various industries, and its largest employers include American Petro- leum Institute, MD Anderson West Houston, Shell and Baker Hughes—the most recent of six Fortune 500 compa- nies to relocate to the district. Larger corporations nd West Hous- ton areas such as the Energy Corridor more attractive because it is where their employees live, said Ryan Barbles, managing director for Stream Realty Partners’ Houston division. Stream Realty, a commercial real estate devel- oper, leases and manages a handful of properties in the Energy Corridor. Additionally, suburban workplaces also help companies add density to their workforce by increasing the num- ber of employees, he said. “In theory, companies move out of downtown so they can get denser,” Barbles said. “Parking ratios are big- ger, they can hire more people [and] t more bodies in a building versus down- town [Houston].” Baker Hughes will begin relocating its headquarters from near George Bush Intercontinental Airport to 575 Dairy Ashford Road in late fall or winter 2023, a Baker Hughes spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the company was attracted to the concentration of

AVERAGE DAILY COMMUTERS

1K-3K

500-999

77478

ENERGY CORRIDOR

BEAR CREEK PIONEERS PARK

77498

N. ELDRIDGE PKWY.

77477

77489

PARK ROW

DAIRY ASHFORD RD.

77479

PARK AND RIDE DR.

FERN DR.

GRISBY RD..

99 TOLL

COUNTRY PLACE DR.

ADDICKS HOWELL RD.

77469

S. MAYDE CREEK DR.

77459

MEMORIAL DR.

PARKWAY PLAZA DR.

WILCREST DR.

ENCLAVE PKWY.

B R

GEORGE BUSH PARK

SOURCES: KIEWIT, BAKER HUGHES, ENBRIDGE, ENERGY CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The goal of the guide is to maintain the corridor as a hub for mixed-use development, promote multimodal access, and revitalize streets to be safe and walkable, per plan documents. This includes connecting cor- ridor roads to create an integral multimodal system, such as Park Row, Eldridge Parkway, Memorial Drive, Dairy Ashford Road and Briar Forest Drive. The management district is also working on an economic impact report, a mobility plan and a compre- hensive study—which will be released in mid- to late 2023, Williams said. “Houston is on this quest to become the energy transition capital of the world, and the headquarters of that capital is the Energy Corridor,” said Ramit Plushnick-Masti, the Energy Corridor’s communications and marketing manager. “So it is incumbent on us ... to tell that story so that we’re also helping the industry lead that innovation.” 5 may transform the park and ride from a concrete lot and bus stop to one that also includes retail and other businesses. WATERMARK DISTRICT Midway Development will transform the ConocoPhillips campus into oce and multifamily spaces, high-end retail and restaurants, and boutique hotels. STREETSCAPES DESIGN GUIDE This plan provides guidelines for roadway, green space, transit and street amenities to aid in mobility and create more walkable spaces within the business district.

oil and gas companies in the district, which brings the company closer to its major customers, and the amenities the district oers its employees. Meanwhile, Canada-based energy infrastructure organization Enbridge subleased oors of the Energy Cen- ter V oce building in March 2022. The relocation from its Galleria-area oces occurred in stages and con- cluded early this year, company spokesperson Michael Barnes said. Williams said the Energy Corridor’s recovery from the height of the pan- demic has mostly been a positive one. “We have a strong economic base with some long-term corporate pres- ence, and that represents a good bit of stability for the area,” he said. Corridor initiatives Further arming a hybrid work- force are several ongoing initiatives within the Energy Corridor that are resident-facing. Projects out of the management district’s Redening Energy campaign aim to create connectivity, broaden the scope of energy as more than oil and gas, and help the business district COMPANIES THAT RELOCATED TO THE CORRIDOR SINCE 2019 KIEWIT Employees: 800+ Space: 171,266 sq. ft. in Energy Center I Move-in date: July 2020 ENBRIDGE Employees: 1,000+ Space: nine oors in Energy Center V Move-in date: rst quarter of 2023 1 2

BAKER HUGHES

Employees: 1,400 Space: 130,000 sq. ft. at 575 Dairy Ashford Road, Houston Move-in date: fall 2023

REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

ADDICKS PARK & RIDE The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is considering this as a top location for a mixed-use development, and 4

lead the energy transition happening in Houston, Williams said. “Quite frankly, energy is anything you want it to be,” he said. “So if you want that to mean health care, if you want it to mean food, it can be that.” Midway Development announced the mixed-use Watermark District at Woodcreek development in October, with plans to begin construction in the rst half of 2023. The project will reimagine a 70-acre site by convert- ing the old ConocoPhillips campus at North Dairy Ashford Road to oce space, multifamily housing, retail, restaurants, a hotel and after-hours entertainment, ocials said. The public relations ocer for Midway declined to share an antici- pated end date for construction, but the initial news release states the development rm will preserve the low-rise, low-density work environ- ment and landscape that is attractive to the workforce. Additionally, the Energy Corridor Management District also intends to tackle projects this year outlined in the Energy Corridor’s Streetscape Design Guide, released in March 2022.

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • MARCH 2023