More national retailers are coming to Katy after Houston-based Medistar Corp. and The Retail Connection broke ground on a new shopping center near Katy Mills off I-10 and Katy Fort Bend Road. The retail center, named The Shoppes at Parkwest | Katy, will amount to more than 450,000 square-feet of land, said Medistar’s Vice President of Development & Acquisitions, Kelly Lindig. The tract of land in Parkwest was had been owned by Medistar, Lindig said. “[The land] is strategic because its acreage is of real size and it’s also close to I-10 and the Energy Corridor,” Lindig said. Retailers will open for business in the shopping center in three different phases, Lindig said. The first phase, slated for completion in the middle of 2016, is reserved for national tenants, including Bed, Bath and Beyond, BuyBuy Baby, DSW, Kirkland’s and DXL. That phase is being overseen by The Retail Connection in Houston. Other tenants are already signing up for later phases though, Lindig said. “We have a pretty good jump of leases that are being put in place,” he said. The benefits will go beyond serving the retail tenants, Lindig said. “It will generate taxes for the city … and increase value of property in that area,” he said. “It will have an immediate economic effect.” After the infrastructure is complete, Lindig said Medistar plans to team up with other companies to continue improving the area. “Our strategy is not just to connect ourselves to the community, but also to other real estate partners that can help us develop within the park,” Lindig said. Access to the markets should be completed by the end of this year, Lindig said.