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- Imperial Char House Preservation
The Imperial Sugar site was the start of what would become Sugar Land and once played a vital role in our city’s economy. Imperial Sugar created jobs, and then homes and as it grew this economic engine was the corner stone of our community, our “company town”, for generations. Today, Sugar Land is still a “company town” serving as a major employment hub in the Houston region with over 70,000 jobs. And although the Imperial Sugar site is no longer operational, the resolve to preserve and honor the City’s history is as strong as ever.
Proposal for preservation and redevelopment of the Imperial Char House
PUMA Development is proposing to preserve and begin redevelopment of the Imperial Char House, the City of Sugar Land’s most iconic building. PUMA, a Houston-based boutique development firm specializing in creating experience-driven, mixed-use communities, has requested support from the City of Sugar Land and Sugar Land Development Corporation (SLDC) toward preservation of the Char House and eventual development of the remainder of the Imperial Historic District. The City Council and SLDC will be considering financial support of the project as it progresses.
Development of the Imperial Historic District
PUMA’s vision for the remainder of the Imperial Historic District, similar to the City’s Land Use Plan, is to develop a walkable, mixed-use project comprised of experiential retail, dynamic entertainment, unique food and beverage, top-notch fitness, multi-family and single-family residential, commercial office space, outdoor parks and more. To date, no development application has been submitted.
Investing and revitalizing for the future
Years of public input have shown the need for denser development with a diversity of housing options that will provide a stronger tax base to maintain Sugar Land’s high level of services and amenities while maintaining one of the state’s lowest tax rates.
This type of development also has many other benefits, such as creating desirable workplaces for new, expanded and existing businesses, pathways to homeownership, public infrastructure improvements and quality of place amenities.
About multi-family units
The increased number of multi-family units is necessary to make the project financially feasible. Previous plans, which included fewer multi-family units, were not financially feasible and therefore did not come to fruition.
The units will be luxury and anticipated to attract single and/or dual income empty-nesters and young professionals, likely without children. This development is within a much larger, 201-acre Regional Activity Center. See the map below for a more complete explanation, but here's the breakdown of the entire Regional Activity Center:
- Imperial Historic District (Proposed PUMA Project Area): A requested 660
- Imperial Lofts: 254 units
- Sueba Site: 274 units
Five Regional Activity Centers (RACs), including Imperial, were approved by City Council in the 2018 Land Use Plan as opportunities to create walkable areas that have a mix of several land uses, including office space, entertainment, retail, hotels, civic areas, and residential housing. RACs are important to Sugar Land's future growth, creating spaces that complement each other and a strong tax base to sustain the City’s high-quality services and amenities.
- Now that City Council has passed the Land Use Plan amendment, what are the next steps?
- Does this vote mean that the Land Use Plan can change at any time?
- Where are we in the process of getting historic tax credit for the site?
- What does approval of the General Development Plan mean?
- Is this a city-led project?
- Why has the City provided financial support for this project?
- Why is this redevelopment happening now?
- How will development of this project impact traffic in the area?
- Who will be leasing the new proposed, multi-family units?
- How will the Children’s Discovery Center & Sugar Land Heritage Museum be impacted by this redevelopment?
- Can the Char House be preserved without the other parts of the proposed project being developed?
- What is the project?
Upcoming Meetings & Information
The rezoning process has been initiated and is now underway. Below are the upcoming meeting dates when the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council will review the changes to the zoning. Also included in the timeline below are other related action items being considered to support the redevelopment. All are subject to change and will be updated as the project progresses.
Date | Meeting/Activity |
---|---|
December 1, 2022 | Public Announcement |
December 8, 2022 | Town Hall [watch meeting video] |
December 15, 2022 | Town Hall [watch meeting video] |
December 20, 2022 | SLDC/CC Workshop– Financial Assistance [see meeting agenda | watch meeting video] |
January 3, 2023 | SLDC/CC Approval– Financial Assistance [see meeting agenda] |
January 24, 2023 | Joint Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council Workshop on rezoning and Land Use Plan Amendment [see meeting agenda | watch meeting video] |
February 7, 2023 | Char House Lease Agreement [see meeting agenda | watch meeting video] |
February 14, 2023 | Planning & Zoning Commission Public Hearing, Consideration & Action on rezoning and Land Use Plan Amendment [see meeting agenda | watch meeting video] |
February 21, 2023 | City Council Public Hearing and 1st Reading on rezoning and Land Use Plan Amendment [see meeting agenda] |
March 7, 2023 | City Council Public Hearing and 2nd Reading on rezoning and Land Use Plan Amendment |
Next Steps
Opportunities for public input will available via community meetings and public hearings. You can also send us your feedback through our online form and sign up to receive regular email updates.
Attend a community town hall
Stay tuned for future community input opportunities as the project progresses.
Let us hear from you
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