The idea for the district emerged in the process of creating the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan, which was completed in March 2023. As part of the plan, planning firm Kendig Keast Collaborative developed a future land use and character map, which noted an unrealized mixed-use entertainment area that could be created.
Meanwhile, change in the area is already happening, with a local staple having shuttered its doors in December and a developer soon opening the first phase of The Dryer, a 3-acre revitalization project.
“I’m not a sentimental person, to be honest,” The Dryer developer Hadi “Andrew” Nurcahya said. “But to me, [preserving the dryers] just makes sense.”
However, business owners from the area said they believe there’s steps the city can take to make the area attractive to new businesses as well as partner with existing businesses.
Two-minute impact
At the Jan. 8 meeting, Katy City Council approved authorizing Mayor William “Dusty” Thiele to sign an $85,000 agreement with planning firm KKC to prepare a plan for a proposed entertainment district surrounding Katy’s historic rice dryers.
“What we’re trying to do is see if the study comes back and tells us how to work and really get a nice entertainment venue that would attract people,” City Administrator Byron Hebert said.
The proposed district lies between Third Street and Hwy. 90 to the north and south, as well as Airline Drive and Katy Fort Bend Road to the west and east, respectively, per city documents. It’s blocks away from Katy’s historic downtown.
However, the city doesn’t own land within the proposed district’s boundary; so while officials can make the district accessible, landowners must also determine next steps once the study is released this fall, city officials said.
The city’s Geographic Information System shows the roughly 74 acres is zoned for industrial development, but among the industrial businesses are some outliers, which include No Label Brewing Co. and The Dryers development. A staple in the area, MKT Distillery, closed in December after five years adjacent to No Label.
Digging deeper
MKT Distillery owners Nick and Nici Jessett said they lease their 1-acre lot at 5372 First St. from Garver Real Estate, a Houston-based industrial real estate company. When their distillery and outdoor taproom couldn’t recover from low sales during the hot summer months, the couple said they decided to close it.
Despite the closure, the Jessetts said celebrating the history of the dryers remains important to them, and Nici Jessett said they’re open for someone else to take over MKT.
From the study, the Jessetts said the city could streamline the permitting process and consider incentives to encourage development in the area.
“Let’s come up with a solution that benefits everybody so that we can all move forward, because ... I think [Katy] can be a great place, but you don’t see any businesses opening quickly there,” Nici Jessett said.
What else?
Nearby, Nurcahya began work in 2021 on The Dryer, which upon completion will include the upcoming Katy Beer Garden, a food hall, office space, a museum through the Katy Heritage Society and a gift shop. The beer garden is set to open this spring, according to the business’ Instagram bio.
The beer garden will feature:
- 100 beers on tap
- 100 wine varieties
Nurcahya also said he hopes to build a parking garage on adjacent land to allow patrons to access other existing and future businesses.
What’s next
Katy City Planner Rachel Lazo said any recommendations from the study would need to be budgeted and approved by City Council.
“Our primary goal is to obtain educated feedback on specific types of uses that would be feasible in an area of town that’s already experiencing early phases of redevelopment and what potential role the city could play in supporting the growth,” she said in an email.
Nurcahya said he believes KKC should get feedback from businesses and property owners for the study.
Meanwhile, No Label Brewing co-owner Tom Paynter said he would like it if the craft brewery could have retail and restaurant neighbors.
“It’s been pretty lonely out here because it’s just the ghost of the silos and then ourselves,” he said. “It’ll be nice to have different people coming out here who may have not normally.”
