See what's happening at The Grid development in Stafford

Plans are being made to see Fort Bend County’s The Grid development to completion, officials said.

What's happening?

The 192-acre undertaking, located in Stafford’s Innovation Corridor off Hwy. 59, has seen a growing number of retail, restaurants, apartments, offices and recreation options within walking distance since construction began in 2018.

After navigating a pandemic, a costly demolition of the former campus, political maneuvering and preserving as much infrastructure and nature as possible, the county and its partners were deliberate in the choices they made, said Grady Prestage, Fort Bend County Precinct 2 commissioner.

Brian Murphy, the managing principal of StreetLevel Investments, got involved with The Grid almost 10 years ago. Since Stafford is dependent on sales taxes because they do not have property taxes, Murphy said he knew they had to produce “an economic engine” in order for The Grid to succeed.

“What we wanted to create was a place where people could live and dine and be proud to show off their city,” Murphy said.

Seeds for the $500 million project were first sown when the Texas Instruments campus, once one of the driving forces in the area, relocated to Sugar Land in 2012, leaving the site ripe with potential.

However, Murphy said nothing has been finalized for what will go into the former TI campus.

Zooming in

The initial plan was to convert the center of the development into offices and have a surrounding gathering space. However, due to the lack of a financeable office market, Murphy said they have had to adapt, bringing in a hotel group, a multifamily group partner to construct 250 multifamily units, restaurants and other forms of entertainment.

With TGB Partners working on a plan, Murphy said he believes construction on this area will commence by the beginning of next year.

“Our goal is to do it as soon as possible. It’s not a five-year-out thing, it’s not a three-year-out thing, it should be way more immediate than that. It’s really as fast as we can go,” Murphy said.

What's next?

Target, Portillo’s and Cava have opened in the last six months, with Panera Bread joining the area soon, Murphy said. Additionally, JLB Partners is tackling a construction project of 350 residential units.

However, Prestage and Murphy said it could take three to five years for The Grid to be fully realized.

“It’s just putting all the pieces together—we’re working on that, and we’re really excited about it,” Murphy said.