The city of Katy, in concert with the Katy Development Authority, is exploring the purchase of 46 acres of land on the south side of Katy Mills Mall with plans to build a boardwalk and convention center.

"It is really going to bring some people down there and dress up the mall a little bit," Katy Mayor Fabol Hughes said.

The city is in the process of negotiating the purchase of the land and deciding how best to fund the purchase.

"We're in the planning stages," Hughes said. "We have a land planner looking at it. We've just got some preliminary designs."

The KDA plans to use METRO and Hotel Occupancy Tax money to build the convention center. Officials hope to attract a hotel and several restaurants to the site as well.

Hughes said the hotel and convention center would complement an adjacent 80-acre wetland, which will have a 2-mile boardwalk with jogging trail and observation deck.

"The wetland is naturally filled with water so it stays full all of the time," he said. "It is really going to be an asset to the area."

Work on making the area into a park is likely going to start this summer. The convention center will follow later, he said.

"We're not to the point that we can vote on it yet," Hughes said. "We have to purchase the land." then come up with some designs and figure out how to pay for it."

Hughes said it is a matter of when and how the city is going to pay for it—not if it can.

"We've got the money to buy the land," he said. "We don't have to have a bond or raise taxes, as a matter of fact we are going to lower taxes again this year."