Katy Edition | February 2023

“IN A POSTPANDEMIC WORLD WITH A TIGHT LABOR MARKET, EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING TO DECREASE THE COMMUTE TO THEIR WORKERS. ... SO IF EVERYBODY IS LIVING IN KATY, MOVING YOUR OFFICE HERE MAKES YOUR PEOPLE VERY HAPPY.” RAMIT PLUSHNICKMASTI, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING MANAGER FOR ENERGY CORRIDOR DISTRICT

IMAGINED

of how people work, Williams said. With hybrid schedules, he said com- panies do not require the same level of oce space as before the pandemic. “There will be some level of work from home [and] some level of a hybrid schedule that happens, but I think companies are still looking to be back into the oce to support innova- tion and collaboration,” he said. Deanna Jones, chief human resources ocer for Baker Hughes, wrote in a summer 2022 email to the company’s Houston employees the move to the Energy Corridor is part of the company’s cultural and operating journey it started in 2020. The transition aims to minimize costs and promote workplace exibil- ity, Jones wrote. Comments from the company’s spokesperson said it also provides Baker Hughes with a com- petitive advantage by supporting a exible and remote work policy. Ramit Plushnick-Masti, the Energy Corridor’s communications and mar- keting manager, said many orga- nizations are considering similar strategies to support a changing work- place landscape. “In a post-pandemic world with a tight labor market, employers are looking to decrease the commute to their workers,” Plushnick-Masti said. “So if everybody is living in Katy, moving your oce here makes your 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 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 people very happy.” Corridor initiatives

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 to oce space, multifamily housing, retail, restau- rants, a hotel and after-hours enter- tainment, 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 a post-pandemic 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. 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 corri- dor roads to create an integral mul- timodal system, such as Park Row, Eldridge Parkway, Memorial Drive, Dairy Ashford Road and Briar Forest Drive. One planned project will add shade trees, public plazas and pocket parks, consistent pedestrian lighting, bike infrastructure, adjusted travel lanes, and clearly dened parking to Grisby Road. 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,” Plushnik-Masti said. “So it is incumbent on us, from a city standpoint, from a district standpoint, to tell that story so that we’re also helping the industry lead that innovation.”

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KATY EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023