Community Impact covered thousands of stories from the Sugar Land and Missouri City communities in 2025. See which stories were the most read this year and check out any new updates.

The following list is in order of most page views.

Carol McCutcheon secures Sugar Land mayor seat

Carol McCutcheon has secured the Sugar Land mayor seat—previously held by Joe Zimmerman—in the June 7 runoff election, according to unofficial election results from Fort Bend County.

McCutcheon led the race over challenger William Ferguson with each receiving 6,103 and 5,402 votes, respectively, according to unofficial election results. Ferguson and McCutcheon were the frontrunners in the May 3 election that had six total candidates.


“I am honored and deeply grateful to the residents of Sugar Land for placing their trust in me and electing me as your next mayor," she said in the statement. “Winning the runoff is a humbling affirmation of our shared vision—and it is just the beginning.”

Other City Council member winners include Jim Vonderhaar, Sanjay Singhal, Rob Boettcher and Rick Miller.

Sugar Land approves concept plan for former Fluor Corp. campus

The former Fluor Corp. campus could be redeveloped as soon as 2034, as Sugar Land City Council approved a concept plan for the site at the May 13 meeting.


The development, called Lake Pointe Green, will focus on residential with optional space for commercial use, said officials with Houston-based developer Lovett Commercial.

The Lake Pointe Green concept plan focuses on walkability and tree preservation, while bringing housing variety to the city, Lovett officials previously said.

According to the new concept plan, the 53-acre site will include:
  • 10-15 acres of multifamily housing, totaling up to 720 units
  • 25-30 acres of townhomes, duplexes and multiplexes
  • At least 5 acres of recreational space
  • Optional commercial areas
Lovett officials expect to begin the phased project in 2025, with first housing deliveries in 2028 and completion in 2034, officials previously said.

Fort Bend ISD teachers could make 6 figure salaries with incentive allotment


Fort Bend ISD officials have submitted an application to receive state-funded incentive allotments for teachers based on the district’s local designation system, officials said at the March 24 board meeting.

The Teacher Incentive Allotment, which is funded by House Bill 3 in 2019, has been implemented in districts across the state as a pathway for teachers to earn a six-figure salary, according to the TIA website.

A teacher's allotment amount is determined by the designation level and the percent of economically disadvantaged students at the campus, according to the TIA system.

Under the system, the:
  • Top 33% of teachers, known as “recognized,” will receive a $3,000-$9,000 pay bump annually
  • Top 20% of teachers, or “exemplary,” will get $6,000-$18,000
  • Top 5% of teachers, or “master” designation, will get $12,000-$32,000
Chief of Organizational Development Stephanie Williams said that if accepted funds will be paid to cohort one teachers in August 2027.


Afshi Charania, Angie Wierzbicki win Fort Bend ISD trustee races

Unofficial final election results show newcomers Afshi Charania and Angie Wierzbicki won the races for Fort Bend ISD board of trustees positions, according to Fort Bend County data.

Charania unseated incumbent Rick Garcia for Position 3, with a gap of 2,855 votes. Garcia has served on the board since May 2022, according to the district website.

Meanwhile, Wierzbicki won against Cheryl Anne Buford and Allison Drew for Position 7. The seat is currently held by trustee David Hamilton, who didn’t seek re-election.


Fort Bend ISD plans for district-wide boundary changes

The Fort Bend ISD School Boundary Advisory Committee has proposed short-term plans for attendance boundary changes for Ferndell Henry and Neill elementary schools.

Meanwhile, district officials also provided a timeline during the March 24 board of trustees meeting for how staff will conduct long-range planning over the next three years, which could involve closing elementary and secondary schools.

With enrollment stabilization expected over the next 10 years and growth in the northwest and southeast portions of the district, FBISD administration will look to balance enrollment at over and underutilized campuses, said Beth Martinez, deputy superintendent chief of staff.

“In the most recent past, we have focused on growth in a few areas, and we have not taken a district-wide approach,” Martinez said. “We have to look at our utilization across this district.”

In December, district officials revealed boundary drafts, which could include the closure of seven elementary schools in 2026-27. Trustees will receive updated or revised scenarios in January, followed by additional public input opportunities.

Final recommendations are scheduled to go before the board in March, with district-wide communication and implementation planned to begin immediately after board action.

Sugar Land to open applications Jan. 1 for expanded Great Homes program

More Sugar Land homeowners will be eligible for exterior home improvements reimbursement funding with the expansion of the city’s Great Homes incentive program.

The program will now allow homes in the bottom 3% of single-family property values to receive a 50% reimbursement for exterior repairs, up from the previous 10% and 25% of project costs, city officials announced in a Dec. 3 news release.

In addition to the reimbursement increase, the program will also see several changes including:
  • Minimum project decreased from $4,000 to $500
  • Exceptions may be made for homeowner insurance requirements
  • Eligibility expanded to include heir owners
Great Home applications are set to open online Jan. 1 with an expected 25 additional participants in the first year. The fiscal year 2025-26 budget includes $200,000 for the program.

Fort Bend ISD staff completes 2 years of overdue special education evaluations

Special education teams across Fort Bend ISD have completed over 2,000 overdue evaluations and re-evaluations this school year, and look to complete thousands more by the start of the 2025-26 school year, officials said at the Jan. 29 board meeting.

The completion of these evaluations comes after the district was found in federal noncompliance for the 2023-24 school year based on the number of overdue re-evaluations, Community Impact reported. However, district officials announced in August they were no longer in noncompliance status.

Without the financial and personnel resources to sustain the special education enrollment growth in the last decade, the district has struggled to keep up with the ever-increasing demand, district officials said last March.

Special education enrollment has almost tripled since the 2015-16 school year, from 4,395 to 12,458 in 2024-25, Chief Academic Officer Adam Stephens said. This has increased the demand for resources to support special education teams across the district.

Based on feedback from campus meetings, FBISD officials said they plan to increase support toward paraprofessionals and to be more proactive about gauging campus-specific needs by regularly connecting with leadership.

The Market at Waters Lake to break ground in Sienna

Construction on The Market at Waters Lake, a three-building shopping center, is set to begin in Sienna later this year.

The three buildings are being constructed on a 4.55-acre site at 1615 Sienna Parkway in Missouri City, according to a brochure from Malabar Hill Capital, the developer of the project.

Construction will begin in the third quarter of this year on the project, and the buildings are expected to be delivered by the second quarter of 2026, said Collin Lester, a broker for real estate firm Read King, the broker for the retail center.

8 businesses coming soon to Sugar Land-Missouri City

Learn more about businesses coming soon to the Sugar Land and Missouri City area, as reported by Community Impact. This list is not comprehensive.Almost 60% of Fort Bend County homeowners see decrease in property value

Despite Fort Bend County seeing an average increase of 1.9% for residential properties from 2024 to 2025, only 37.9% of homeowners saw their properties increase in value, data from the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District news release. The average increase is also down from last year’s 4.4% increase.

Homes valued under $200,000 saw the biggest negative shift among the five property value ranges, with 74.6% of houses decreasing in value, appraisal data shows. Meanwhile, homeowners with properties valued over $750,000 were the only group to see more than half their values increase, at 63.1%.

Despite the drop in the values of most homes, single-family home sales, median prices and months’ supply of homes in Fort Bend County all increased from 2024 to 2025. The amount of homes added to the county rose, seeing a 4.5% increase, from 7,360 to 7,691 according to FBCAD data.