Representatives from Grundfos broke ground in June on its new production facility in Waller. (Bradley Dountz/Community Impact)
Waller County officials are looking to bring more development at its Waller County Industrial Corridor along I-10 between the cities of Katy and Brookshire.
In a nutshell
The area has emerged as an industrial supercenter blending manufacturing and logistics. Businesses in the area include longstanding tenants such as Igloo Coolers and new developments like Tesla’s battery megafactory, said Vince Yokum, executive director for the Waller County Economic Development Partnership.
The area still has between 1,500 and 2,000 acres available for development.
The “Waller County Forward” campaign—which is intended to bring jobs and diversify the area’s economic base—is centered around the 20-year effort to include an inland port, which is a large-scale shipping and trade center located a distance from the coast.
The I-10 corridor has long been marketed by the Waller County Economic Development Partnership as the Waller County Industrial Corridor. The new marketing and development strategy is centered around a 20-year effort to include an inland gateway as an additional feature. (Courtesy Waller County Economic Development Partnership)
However, Yokum said the partnership has intentionally stayed away from the inland port term and uses “inland gateway” to ensure the strategy is not too freight-focused.
The specifics
The Waller County Industrial Corridor is already home to a number of businesses with several projects underway.
The area is targeting specific industries including aviation, food processing, logistics and energy, Yokum said.
How we got here
Preparation for the project has been in the works for over 20 years, with the Houston Executive Airport announcing its new facility around 2006—positioning the area for multimodal transportation with the existing Union Pacific railroad and major roadways, including I-10 and Hwy. 90.
Behind the scenes, Yokum said the partnership has been working to build opportunities by joining Port Houston’s Foreign Trade Zone 84 to set up freeport tax exemptions on inventory from Royal ISD and the city of Brookshire.
Additionally, the partnership has worked with industrial developers to create an innovative spec building abatement program to develop over 13 million square feet of industrial space.
Diving in deeper
Although the area is already multimodal, officials are looking one step further to position the area as an inland gateway with the proposed Hwy. 36A project, which is being explored by the Texas Department of Transportation.
The Hwy. 36A route aims to provide a road for large trucks to travel from Port Freeport to reach major highways and distribute freight in North Texas, Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers previously said.
The route is broken into two segments—one from I-10 to Hwy. 6 just north of Hempstead and the second connecting I-10 to the existing Hwy. 36 just south of Needville and Rosenberg.
Officials have advocated for the road’s development, especially with the increased large truck traffic from the ongoing project to deepen and widen Port Freeport, which will enable the canal to accommodate larger container ships and bring more freight to the region.
Yokum also said there could also be opportunities to expand air and rail operations for more future commercial use.
Also of note
The initiative comes as Waller County has experienced rapid population growth since 2012, with the area being named the fastest growing county in Texas and the second fastest in the nation, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The county grew 37.32% from 44,825 in 2014 to 61,552 in 2024, per five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The population is estimated to be at 69,480 in 2030.
Stay tuned
Yokum said the partnership has created a coalition featuring the cities of Katy and Brookshire, local land owners, the Houston Executive Airport, Twinwood and IDV to help with coordinating the new strategy.
The partnership is also revamping its strategic plan—last updated in 2017—which will include this central marketing method for the industrial corridor area, Yokum said. The update is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027.
"The main goal is to add a feature to an industrial corridor, giving potential prospects of companies a really good lay of the land and putting it kind of in one marketing piece," Yokum said.
A digital version of the marketing plan will be released including interactive videos and related content.
