Major roads up and down the Katy area are dotted with signs announcing new developments and cranes moving dirt. While some businesses, like Academy and Det Norske Veritas are expanding, new companies are being drawn to the area citing the convenient location, mobility, strong business partners, a quality workforce and plentiful available land. International oil and gas service companies including Schlumberger subsidiary Dyna-Drill and Weatherford International have opened manufacturing facilities in the area, while Aramco Services is opening a new research and development facility. Chevron is also eyeing Katy for future research and development activities.

“A lot of businesses are locating [farther] out now. The land isn’t as expensive, and there’s an abundant amount of it. A lot of the employees live nearby,” said Steve Radack, Harris County Precinct 3 commissioner. 

In 1990, Academy Sports and Outdoors chose a site along Mason Road in Katy to serve as a distribution center and its corporate headquarters. Academy was purchased by global investment firm Kolhberg Kravis Roberts in 2011. The company is now expanding its headquarters and creating new jobs in the Katy area. 

“KKR seems to have confidence in Katy as a successful headquarters and e-commerce location,” said Lance LaCour, CEO of the Katy Area Economic Development Council. “This expansion can also facilitate company growth as a base for its retail and distribution locations nationwide. We appreciate the employment and investment, as Academy with 2,900 employees continues to be one of the top 10 employers in the Katy area.” 

Magnets for development

Construction equipment has become a fixture in the area where I-10 meets Grand Parkway. Costco opened the Katy area store at the intersection of these major freeways in February. Since the popular wholesale store planted its flag in the area, it has served as a magnet for further development nearby. A development like Costco brings traffic and attention to an area, LaCour said.

“Costco and others help increase visibility and viability with activity and infrastructure development,” he said. 

While retail developments like Costco might help kickstart development in a certain area, once corporate offices start moving in, other companies take notice, LaCour said. TrammelCrow is developing office buildings One and Two Grand Crossing near the intersection of I-10 and the Grand Parkway. 

“Speculative buildings like the two 172,000-square-foot buildings at Grand Crossing are the true magnets for recruiting office companies to locate here.” LaCour said. “Recruiting office users that create quality jobs is our ultimate economic development objective.” 

KAEDC has also identified Mason Creek Corporate Park, where the Geico office is located; West Ten Business Park, which houses a Medline distribution center; and LaCenterra to be other magnets for development in the area.

International corporations

In addition to Academy and Geico, other high profile companies have brought offices—and jobs—to Katy in recent years. Oil and gas companies such as Chevron and Aramco are making moves toward opening research and development facilities in the Katy area. 

Chevron announced its purchase of more than 100 acres at Clay Road and Grand Parkway in June. Though Chevron’s exact plans for the land have not yet been announced, company officials have said the site could be used to expand its research and development operations. 

Houston-based oil and gas company Aramco Services is also in the process of adding new RD sites. The company has begun operations from a new 50,000-square-foot exploration and production research site in Park Ten, just west of the Energy Corridor in Katy ISD. Susan Gonzales, communications coordinator with Aramco, said that the facility is not yet fully operational as some of the labs are still under construction. However, some of the staff is already working at the new facility, she said.

“We had a soft opening. There’s people out there, [and] the facilities are underway,” Gonzales said. “They’ve been adding to that, getting the labs ready.” 

Weatherford International began production at its newest manufacturing and training facility off Hwy. 90 in Katy earlier this year. The company plans to bring up to 500 manufacturing jobs to the area over the next few years, Senior Marketing Manager Karl Sakocius said. 

It is difficult for companies to find enough land for large campuses in Houston, Sakocius said. 

“You can’t get this size of land in Houston, there isn’t any,” he said.

In addition, the area’s proximity to Houston and the Energy Corridor, where many Weatherford business partners and clients are located, was a major factor in the company’s decision to locate in Katy.

“The Energy Corridor is in the western part of the city, so we’re still close to that, but we also have access to the rest of the state,” Sakocius said.

Trends

Over the past several years, growth has taken place in all three counties that make up the Katy area, though each county seems to be attracting different types of development, LaCour said. 

“In the Katy area, Harris County is seeing more focus on office, light industrial and retail. Fort Bend [County] has a stronger focus on retail with some office. Waller [County] is more focused on large industrial (distribution) and manufacturing,” he said.

LaCour said that future growth will likely be in the northern portion of the Katy area.

“I think the Mason Road and Grand Parkway up to Clay Road will contain the strongest and most energetic growth,” he said.