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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.<\/p>\n
Courtesy NewQuest Properties<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NewQuest Properties<\/p>\n
The developer behind one of the largest new retail developments\u00a0in the Houston region, Texas Heritage Marketplace in Katy, recently broke ground on the project\u2019s next\u00a0major phase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
NewQuest has spent more than a year building <\/a>the infrastructure for Texas Heritage Marketplace<\/a>, a massive 800,000-square-foot project planned near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Texas Heritage Parkway.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n RELATED: 11 exciting new retail and mixed-use developments coming to Houston in 2026 and beyond<\/a><\/p>\n In March,\u00a0NewQuest started vertical construction on about 225,000 square feet\u00a0of retail buildings, including an outdoor-oriented section called Heritage Grove.\u00a0<\/p>\n NewQuest saved a live-oak tree from demolition during a highway construction project, later designing the retail spaces in Heritage Grove around the tree.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy NewQuest Properties A rendering showing a portion of the Heritage Grove section of Texas Heritage Marketplace.<\/p>\n Courtesy NewQuest Properties A rendering showing Escalante’s and Tony C’s spaces planned in Texas Heritage Marketplace.<\/p>\n Courtesy NewQuest Properties<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A small boardwalk-style concept is planned under the large tree, along with a children\u2019s play area, said Austin\u00a0Alvis, president at NewQuest Properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat connection to greenery is becoming more and more important for open-air shopping centers,\u201d\u00a0Alvis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n NewQuest isn\u2019t 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>, 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>, a 150,000-square-foot retail center underway in Fulshear.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe the evolution of suburban shopping centers is to incorporate areas where people can feel more comfortable hanging out and staying a while,\u201d\u00a0Alvis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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