A rendering showing escalante’s Tex-Mex restaurant in front of a planned green space in Heritage Grove, a new section coming to the Texas Heritage Marketplace development in Katy.
Courtesy NewQuest Properties
An aerial image showing where big box retailers Taret, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s are planning locations within the new Texas Heritage Marketplace retail center in Katy.
NewQuest Properties
The developer behind one of the largest new retail developments in the Houston region, Texas Heritage Marketplace in Katy, recently broke ground on the project’s next major phase.
The new phase, called Heritage Grove, will bring new outdoor-oriented retail and patio restaurants to the165-acre Texas Heritage Marketplace development. The addition reflects a broader shift among Houston-area suburban developers toward incorporating green spaces and outdoor gathering areas to break up the traditional strip-center model.
NewQuest has spent more than a year building the infrastructure for Texas Heritage Marketplace, a massive 800,000-square-foot project planned near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Texas Heritage Parkway.
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In March, NewQuest started vertical construction on about 225,000 square feet of retail buildings, including an outdoor-oriented section called Heritage Grove.
NewQuest saved a live-oak tree from demolition during a highway construction project, later designing the retail spaces in Heritage Grove around the tree.
Courtesy NewQuest Properties
A rendering showing a portion of the Heritage Grove section of Texas Heritage Marketplace.
Courtesy NewQuest Properties
A rendering showing Escalante’s and Tony C’s spaces planned in Texas Heritage Marketplace.
Courtesy NewQuest Properties
Heritage Grove will be anchored by a roughly 200-year-old live oak tree set within a community green space surrounded by about 35,000 square feet of restaurant and retail.
A small boardwalk-style concept is planned under the large tree, along with a children’s play area, said Austin Alvis, president at NewQuest Properties.
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“That connection to greenery is becoming more and more important for open-air shopping centers,” Alvis said.
Alvis pointed to the green space in La Centerra, another major Katy retail development, as an example of the kind of outdoor focal point he hopes to create in his project with Heritage Grove.
NewQuest isn’t the only suburban retail developer investing in outdoor amenities to attract shoppers. Ferguson Family Partners is also adding a park-like gathering space to District West, a 420,000-square-foot retail development planned in Richmond. And Janipriya USA has set aside one acre of open space to serve as an event lawn in Fulshear Central, a 150,000-square-foot retail center underway in Fulshear.
“We believe the evolution of suburban shopping centers is to incorporate areas where people can feel more comfortable hanging out and staying a while,” Alvis said.
New restaurants planned within Heritage Grove include Escalante’s, Tony C’s Beer Garden and Aji Izakaya. And a new 40,000-square-foot EoS Fitness will sit behind the green space.
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A colorful mural is planned on the side of these junior anchor buildings planned in Texas Heritage Marketplace.
Courtesy NewQuest Properties
To the north of the Heritage Grove section of the project, more traditional big-box retail buildings are taking shape.
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NewQuest recently started construction on what it’s calling the “junior anchors” of Texas Heritage Marketplace. That includes Academy Sports + Outdoors (51,068 square feet), Burlington (22,147 square feet), Spec’s Fine Wines & Spirits (16,806 square feet) and Ulta Beauty (10,000 square feet). The developer plans to complete construction on the junior anchors by the first quarter of 2027.
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Construction is also underway on several of the larger anchor stores, including a 148,000-square-foot Target expected to open this fall. A Lowe’s store is expected to open this summer, while Sam’s Club and Whataburger are also planning to open this year.
Overall, the $400 million development is expected to be one of the largest retail projects ever constructed in Waller County, according to NewQuest.