For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

ROSENBERG, TX-NewQuest Properties is set to break ground on a 430-acre, $241-million development with a 700,000-sf Brazos Town Center as the anchor. The plan also calls for 670 apartments, 479 single-family homes, 251 patio homes, 152 townhouses and a professional office complex.

To kick off the development, NewQuest has bought 200 acres from Mercantile Partners Ltd. of Fort Worth. A closing is scheduled for mid-May with five local sellers to get the balance of the land near the intersection of FM 762 and US Highway 59, says Steven Alvis, managing partner of NewQuest Properties.

"The project is a mix of a traditional power center and a town center," Alvis says. He tells GlobeSt.com that several big box retailers already have committed to 150,000 sf, but he's not naming names until contracts are signed. He says about 150,000 sf will be dedicated to small shops. Rent projections call for the rate to exceed $16 per sf.

Construction kicks off later this week on a 38,294-sf Cinemark Theater, which is expected be ready for business early next year. The Brazos Town Center development will include 25 pad sites neighboring an open Home Depot and Chili's Bar & Grill.

CDA Architects and Covarrubias & Associates, both Houston firms, have collaborated on the Texas Hill Country-design for the town center. A general contractor has not yet been selected.

Alvis says residential components will break ground in June. Houston-based Judwin Properties will develop the apartments while Imperial Homes will build out the single-family component. Meanwhile, NewQuest is talking with five other firms to develop the townhouses and patio homes, according to Alvis. As for the office development, he says talk have yet to open with a developer.

The town center will be fueled by residents and businesses in Rosenberg and Richmond, which have remained rural cities until now despite the high growth of their nearby neighbors, Sugar Land and Missouri City. About 19,000 lots are platted for 39 subdivisions to be built in the next few years in Rosenberg and Richmond, according Alvis. The Brazos Town Center will be located eight miles south of First Colony Mall and Sugar Land Town Center, setting up a trade area that extends 45 miles southwest to El Campo or halfway to Victoria. Alvis estimates more than 150,000 residents live within the trade area.

"It's a booming trade area, but there's not a lot of retail there now," Alvis says, projecting retail revenue for the town center will nearly equal the amount now being generated by just by Rosenberg. "All the tax dollars that have been going to Sugar Land will now stay within the city," he says.

Rosenberg officials have committed $3.5 million to help with costs for infrastructure and amenities. The capital will be used for water features, including lakes, and hiking and biking trails.

Instant Insights /

NewQuest Readies 430 Acres for $241M Mixed-Use Project

Related Stories

Recommended For You