Two future business parks in Missouri City are expected to bolster the city's economy, help the city reduce its reliance on residential property tax revenue and move the city closer to its goal of transforming from a bedroom community to more of an economic hub.

"The city of Missouri City has had a long–term focus from the [City] Council for some time of growth and development, attraction of jobs and capital investment," said Joe Esch, Missouri City economic development director. "[We] are looking to increase the quality of life for all residents by bringing in capital investment and jobs that allow for more opportunities and help stabilize the economy."

A third project—the relocation of Houston Community College–Missouri City from Sienna Plantation to Texas Parkway south of City Hall— is expected to serve as a catalyst to spark future retail development and redevelopment in an aging corridor.

The addition of the two new business parks and the relocation of HCC will also help Missouri City balance out its property tax revenue stream, which predominately stems from residential properties, Esch said. About 70 percent of property tax revenue in the city comes from its residential properties, and property tax revenue makes up a majority of the city's revenue stream.

However, since 2009 the city has seen its residential property tax revenue decrease and its commercial property tax revenue increase, which is due in large part to the success of the city's existing business parks—Lakeview Business Park and Beltway Crossing Business Park, Esch said.

"The [new commercial developments] will expand the employment base in the city, which will further expand the commercial and industrial tax base and move Missouri City along the road from being a bedroom community," said Gary Smith, director of development services in Missouri City.

All three projects fall in line with Missouri City's comprehensive plan, adopted in September 2009, and outlines the city's vision for development and redevelopment through 2029. The plan targets the development and build out of the city's remaining tracts, which total about 2,000 acres, and also seeks to revitalize established corridors, such as Texas Parkway, Esch said.

Business parks

On the heels of the economic success of Lakeview Business Park, Missouri City City Council approved in fall 2014 the addition of two new business parks—Park 8Ninety Business Park and Gateway Southwest Industrial Park—both of which will be in the vicinity of Beltway 8 and Hwy. 90.

Lakeview Business Park was developed by Trammell Crow Company and opened in 2008 during a period of economic downturn. However, in the seven years since opening, the park is at about 95 percent capacity—with businesses like Niagara Bottling Company and Southwest Electronic Energy— and has helped create hundreds of jobs and grow the city's commercial tax base by about 25 percent, Esch said.

"[Lakeview Business Park] was one of the few developments that did very well during that time period," said Jeff Wiley, president of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council. "It really sustained [the area] when a lot of the capital had dried up on the industrial side of business."

Trammell Crow Company will develop its second business park in Missouri City, the 120-acre Park 8Ninety Business Park at the intersection of Beltway 8 and Hwy. 90. Initial designs for the business park indicate an industrial warehouse facility, similar to the layout of Lakeview Business Park.

In addition, Conor Commercial Real Estate announced the acquisition of a 36-acre tract at the interchange of Beltway 8 and Hwy. 90 in late December for its Gateway Southwest Industrial Park. The three-building, 525,800-square-foot industrial park will be completed in two phases with Phase 1 expected to be complete in late 2015.

Wiley said the success of Lakeview Business Park—which brought in approximately $126 million in capital investments to the city—has set a precedent as well as expectations for both new business parks. Capital investment is the acquisition of land expected to be profitable in the future.

"I think there is a lot of bright promise, presuming that Missouri City City Council sees that and embraces that direction," Wiley said. "The worst thing that could happen is that over time we lose focus on what is important to the city in terms of development."

Once construction of the business parks is complete, the city will use different incentive programs to attract a number of businesses to occupy both sites. In the past, Missouri City has utilized tax abatements to attract businesses to the area.

"The incentives and how you attract [businesses], that is the deal closer," Esch said. "The incentives are those things that [the city uses] to differentiate itself from the different competition."

HCC relocation

The HCC board of trustees approved Jan. 23 the $3.6 million purchase of 41 acres to relocate HCC–Missouri City from its 45-acre Sienna Plantation location to south of City Hall.

The new 75,000-square-foot building will be constructed with capital improvement bonds from 2013, according to HCC. The new building will also support more than 150 percent of current course offerings and has space for two university partners to offer courses outside of an associate's degree.

Once finalized, HCC will sell the Sienna Plantation location to Fort Bend County and sell the vacant land adjacent to the existing campus to a private developer, according to HCC.

Esch said HCC's relocation will act as an anchor to ignite redevelopment efforts along the Texas Parkway corridor.

"[HCC] is a strong articulated vision that City Council has brought to our attention, and we are acting upon that it would bring significant capital investment to Texas Parkway," Esch said.

The relocation will tap into a larger and more diverse student base in neighborhoods along Texas Parkway and draw in students from Houston and Stafford, Wiley said.

"There is an opportunity to access more population in the Houston and Missouri City market than in Sienna Plantation," Wiley said. "It is an older developed area and it is going to take redevelopment. The biggest thing required is to create an environment in which commercial energies will want to come in and redevelop and create traffic in the area."

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