As the Sugar Land and Missouri City area begins to reach build-out with only 4% and 9% of developable land remaining, respectively, city officials are looking to bring in more housing variety with middle, or compact, housing options, such as townhouses, duplexes, cottages and small-lot homes.

Sugar Land has about 1,000 middle housing units, while the concept is emerging but “limited” in Missouri City, officials said.In May, Sugar Land City Council approved a concept plan and up to $24.3 million in incentives for Lake Pointe Green, a new development to replace the former Fluor Corp. campus, aimed at redeveloping the area and providing up to 350 middle housing units.

The city also approved rezoning 30 acres of land near Constellation Field to allow the development of housing options tied in with offices, shops and restaurants, Planning Manager Ruth Lohmer said.

Meanwhile, with Missouri City’s comprehensive plan update underway, city officials said they’re looking to bring more housing variety, including middle housing to areas such as the FM 1092, Cartwright Road and Independence Boulevard corridors.



Why it matters

With interest rates and home prices on the rise, the market has begun to shift to building these smaller-scale homes to meet residents where they can afford to live, said Kunal Seth, team lead for The Seth Brothers Real Estate Team.

“The trends are more about building smaller, more affordable homes than building mansions, which are [4,000, 5,000] or 6,000 square feet, because those price out [many people],” he said.Breaking it down

In addition to affordability, Seth said residents are moving to smaller homes seeking less maintenance and more accessibility with the emergence of mixed-use developments as cities work to make the most out of their remaining land.

“The trend I’m seeing is that inner city strategies of building vertically are now bleeding into the suburban part of Houston, especially in the Sugar Land area, because the land is almost saturated,” he said. “We don’t have any more land to build single-family [homes].”

Director of Redevelopment Devon Rodriguez said Sugar Land officials also hope the housing options will help grow the city’s population, which declined 7.15% from 2018 to 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.“Sugar Land is beginning to see a decline in population, largely because many longtime residents who moved here in the ’80s and ’90s have stayed, while their children have grown up and moved elsewhere,” she said.Going forward

Although middle housing is on the way, several projects will take time to develop or still need to find developers, officials said.

The Lake Pointe Green project is set to begin this year, with the first housing deliveries in 2027, followed by final completion in 2034, Lovett officials said.

Additionally, Rodriguez said the city has begun to see renewed interest on the rezoned property near Constellation Field, although no contracts are underway.

However, there is no timeline for middle housing in Missouri City with the comprehensive plan still underway, Director of Development Services Jennifer Thomas Gomez said. The final plan is tentatively scheduled for approval in July or August.