Representatives with Newland Communities presented Wednesday an updated draft of the Telfair-Tract 5 development to be located at the southeast intersection of University Boulevard and Hwy. 59 in close proximity to the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. City staff and Newland Communities officials have been working on the development plan—which will primarily include office space—since 2015. Previous proposals have been made for Telfair-Tract 5. However, changes were made in response to input provided by the public. “Some of the things that we wanted to point out that haven’t changed from the beginning of the discussions with the city when the first plan was developed [include] Newland’s commitment to avoid multifamily apartments,” said Hal Sharp, commercial office building developers leader for Houston’s branch of Gensler, an architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. Concerns from the proposal presented in 2015 included multifamily housing, which residents were not in favor of incorporating into the development. Additionally, public feedback generated from a 2016 proposal indicated concern surrounding office building height, the number of parking garages, preserving green space and the integration of a senior living facility. The longterm vision is to create an office and entertainment-centric mixed-use development, said Alan Bauer, senior vice president for the Houston division of Newland Communities. The draft presented Wednesday includes approximately 1 million square feet of office space, 60,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, and 207,100 square feet of medical space, Bauer said. The master plan also allows space for an eight-level, 350-room hotel on the east side of Lexington Boulevard as well as a seven-level, 250-room hotel on the west side of Lexington Boulevard. “We’re early here in the process with getting feedback from the community on this proposal,” said Lisa Kocich-Meyer, Sugar Land director of planning. “That’s a good thing, and there will be more opportunities that will be coming along the way for [residents] to be involved.” More information about Telfair-Tract 5 can be found here. Residents are encouraged to review the master plan and provide feedback to Newland officials at [email protected].