The Imperial Char House is the former building for Imperial Sugar Co., while Lake Pointe Plaza is the former headquarters for construction company Fluor Corp., which relocated to the Energy Corridor this summer.
The developers of the respective projects are no longer under contract for the two properties as of this summer; however, both developers told Community Impact they plan to get their respective properties back under contract and continue the projects.
The big picture
Ruth Lohmer, assistant director of community planning and redevelopment, described both Imperial and Lake Pointe as “top-priority areas” at Sugar Land’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Aug. 13. These tie into city staff’s long-term goal to redevelop commercial areas and revitalize aging areas, as only about 4% of city land remains undeveloped.
"The redevelopment of both the Imperial Historic District and Lake Pointe are long-term projects that will take years to come to fruition," Sugar Land Communications Director Doug Adolph said in an email. "The city remains committed to supporting these projects and are actively working on them regardless of their current development status."
The backstory
Despite several failed starts over more than a decade, the Imperial Char House project made progress last year after Houston-based entrepreneurial firm Puma Development announced in December 2022 intentions to spend about $1 billion to turn the historic space and the surrounding area into a mixed-use project, Community Impact reported.
Puma Development's plans for the Imperial Historic District include adding retail, entertainment, multifamily and single-family housing, and office spaces.
City Council also previously approved a $5 million reimbursement agreement to support predevelopment and construction expenses linked to the Imperial Char House, located off Kempner Street.
Digging deeper
SLP-90A LTD, an affiliate of Hunton Group, is the property owner of about 27 acres, including the historic char house, located within the Imperial Historic District, Adolph said. A 2020 structural engineering study estimated the char house property has until about 2030 before its deterioration will make redevelopment or preservation no longer an option, Community Impact reported.
In an emailed statement, a Puma spokesperson said the company remains committed to developing the Imperial Sugar site.
"We are working closely with the city of Sugar Land and other third parties to accomplish the goal of bringing back to life the [more than 100-year-old] historic site," the spokesperson said. "While developing anything in today’s financial environment remains difficult, we have a plan and are resolute in our efforts."
What else?
Meanwhile, Sugar Land-based Planned Community Developers announced plans last September to redevelop the 53-acre Fluor Corp. campus, located at the intersection of I-69 and Hwy. 6. PCD is also responsible for developing the 190 acres surrounding the campus into Lake Pointe Town Center, which features retail and residential options.
PCD’s plans for the campus redevelopment project—referred to Lake Pointe Plaza—include retail, restaurants, residential and office spaces, a hotel and conference center, and entertainment venues. Additionally, PCD planned to use the two surrounding lakes as amenities and add new residential components, such as condos and apartments, PCD CEO and President Don Janssen said in an interview.
"It's good real estate, it's good for the community, and I think we can do a good job with basically tearing the buildings down and rebuilding something that's even better than it was before," he said.
To support this development, in late 2023 and early 2024 the city created the Lake Pointe Redevelopment District, amended the city’s land use and development code, approved the redevelopment concept plan, and approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and developer for the project.
PCD officials initially said construction on the property could start this year, but the timeline has been delayed while PCD officials work to get the property back under contract, Janssen said.
Janssen said PCD "ran out of time" to complete the feasibility period of the contract with landowner Maxxam Inc.
"I did everything I could do to be ready, but then when really the seller ran out of time and I ran out of time with the current lender, then we went out of contract," he said.
However, Janssen said it's a high-priority project for both the company and the city, and PCD has started the process to get back under contract.
"So we're going to keep working; we're very optimistic we can get this done," he said.
