SUGAR LAND, TX – A redesign of Sugar Land Town Square is ongoing. The mixed-use development owner, Lionstone Investments, is working with Dallas-based Rebees, Sugar Land's Planned Community Developers, and the City of Sugar Land to develop the space into a retail destination for the next retail era. The new square will expand the public program to further activate the common areas, enrich the walking environment and add new dealers.
“Sugar Land Town Square has served as a community engagement hub for many years. We are aggressively investing in the future at a time when many other projects are being scaled back, ”said Tom Paterson, COO, Lionstone. "This redesign creates dynamic and flexible spaces for a variety of uses and users to safely interact."
The first phase is slated to be completed by mid-2021 and includes landscaping, new outdoor areas where social distancing is possible, and larger public seating areas. Branding, signage and new tenant shop windows enliven the visitor experience. New tenants include local entrepreneurs with original dining and retail concepts such as the recently opened State Fare Kitchen and Mattison Avenue Salon & Spa.
"The vision that guides the development of Sugar Land Town Square is to create a vibrant, walk-through village with unique merchants, delightful surprises, outdoor communal areas and authentic expressions of local culture," said Matt Ragan of Rebees. "Sugar Land Town Square is the cultural and urban center of the city of Sugar Land and will soon honor this role by becoming as vibrant and forward-thinking as the city itself."
According to Lionstone, Sugar Land is one of the fastest growing, wealthiest, and most ethnically diverse cities in the country.
"There will be so many new additions to Sugar Land Town Square in the coming months," Ragan told GlobeSt.com. “All I can say now is that the people in Sugar Land who are currently traveling to Houston will soon have many more reasons to shop and find their entertainment much closer to home. Not only that, I also think you'll see a lot more traffic from Houston to Sugar Land Town Square. "
Local experts point out that while more customers are shopping online, in-person shopping is not excluded. Retailers and malls that have closed may have been weak before the pandemic, and the stronger ones will move on as Houstoners keep shopping, according to a report from NAI Partners.
"Certain segments of the retail market have already recovered faster than some expected, while others continue to struggle with the ever-changing environment," said Jason Gaines, senior vice president of retail services at NAI Partners.
