Toro District estimated to have $34B economic impact in Cypress region

An 83-acre sports and entertainment hub called the Toro District is coming to the Bridgeland community by 2029 as part of a public-private partnership between the Houston Texans, Howard Hughes Communities and Harris County.

The big picture

The Texans will construct a 175,000-square-foot headquarters with training facilities, administrative space and a fieldhouse, officials announced Feb. 25. Texans President Mike Tomon told Community Impact the NFL franchise has been looking to build an off-site headquarters for years, moving non-gameday operations from NRG Stadium in Houston’s Inner Loop.

“The idea of coming together and having our headquarters [and] training facility, and doing it in a mixed-use environment, we really felt could be a unique and significant catalyst for the surrounding community,” Tomon said.

Meanwhile, Harris County officials said they will construct a 25,000-square-foot annex within the Toro District to expand access to local government services for northwest Harris County residents.

The partnership received unanimous approval Feb. 12 in Harris County Commissioners Court. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones are spearheading the county’s involvement in the partnership through the creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone, or a TIRZ.

The project is estimated to have a long-term economic impact of about $34 billion, officials said, and will include:

• 1 million square feet of office space
• 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants
• 250,000 square feet health care space
• 175,000-square-foot fieldhouse and performance center
• 5,000 parking spaces
• 1,300 units of multifamily housing
• 4 new parks with walk and bike trails
• 3 outdoor NFL training fields
• 2 hotels totaling 300 rooms

Tomon said the Texans were involved in conversations with other counties when scoping a site for their new home base, but they were particularly attracted to the rapid growth near Hwy. 290 and the Grand Parkway when Howard Hughes approached them about a year ago.

Harris County’s population as a whole is expected to grow by approximately 40% over the next 25 years, and population growth in the northwest corridor could exceed 300% in the same time frame, Briones said.

“The more jobs we create in our community, the more the commercial developments support the tax base, the residents benefit, the quality of life goes up and the overall experience is better,” O’Reilly said.

Ramsey and Briones said in addition to boosting local economic growth, the investment will expand public green space and accelerate road and drainage improvements in the Cy-Fair area. Planned projects include roadway extensions at Mason and Peek roads and pedestrian crossings along busy corridors.

Harris County’s contributions will be funded through a TIRZ, an agreement that requires the developer to use a portion of collected property tax revenue to fund road and infrastructure improvements in the area.

The exact TIRZ boundary for the Toro District project is still being finalized as of press time, Precinct 4 officials said.

Another detail

Officials said the Toro District project also has a large focus on educational opportunities for students in Cy-Fair ISD, Waller ISD and the Lone Star College System.

Tomon said the school districts will be able to use the Texans’ fieldhouse and practice fields for high school graduations, flag football and other youth events. Additionally, the Texans will partner with local schools to establish sports-focused internship and career pathway programs.

CFISD Superintendent Doug Killian said CFISD has been in communication with Howard Hughes and the Texans to discuss student programming, and the district will stay involved as the development nears completion.

“The economic development for us is going to be huge,” Killian told Community Impact•. “We’re going to have all sorts of real estate development that’s going to lead to cheaper taxes for [CFISD] because it brings in revenue from more places.”

In their words

• “This is the future center of gravity for Harris County, and it will be catalyzed by this landmark transformational public-private partnership," Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said.
• “When we look at what is world-class, a big component that we love and we associate with that is being engaged in the community," Houston Texans President Mike Tomon said.
• "[The partnership] reflects confidence, it reflects leadership and it reflects the shared belief that this region deserves intentional growth," Howard Hughes CEO David O'Reilly said.
• "It's a wonderful, clear example of what county government should be doing—sitting down with partners, trying to anticipate needs and then planning," Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said.

The timeline and cost for the county annex and parks and infrastructure projects are still in the works, Harris County officials said. O’Reilly said Howard Hughes is aiming to complete the Toro District in time for the Texans to use the new facilities ahead of the 2029-30 NFL season.

While no plans have been confirmed, Tomon said the Texans have been working with Harris County and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to plan “the next iteration of NRG Park.” In the meantime, the Texans will continue to play home games at NRG Stadium.

“As a Cy-Fair guy myself, it means a lot to me personally to do this right here,” Texans owner and CEO Cal McNair said Feb. 25.

Howard Hughes will announce Toro District tenants in the coming months, officials said.

“We’ve been looking for the center of Cypress for the last 20 years,” Ramsey said. “Well, we’re about to find it.”