In just one year, Fort Bend County gained 27,000 residents – cementing its position as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, according to the most recent U.S. census data.
This trend of rapid growth will continue into the coming decades as projections show Fort Bend doubling in size, reaching nearly 2 million residents by 2050.
The massive, sprawling master planned communities popping up across the county are evidence of this transformation. One such master-planned community, called Austin Point just south of Richmond, plans to build over 14,000 homes and amass a population of nearly 50,000 people. If achieved, this would make the subdivision larger than its neighboring city of Rosenberg.
And the passing of a $865 million mobility and park bond last fall will create major updates to roads and infrastructure across the county.
But with growth comes challenges, local leaders say.
While county leaders have preached a motto of making Fort Bend a place to “Live, Work and Play,” only about 22 percent of county residents actually work in the county. And some opportunities to bring more jobs have been lost due to a lack of infrastructure.
To see the county grow so quickly has been a surreal experience for Fort Bend County Judge KP George. 54 years ago the county was home to only about 52,000 people, George said.
To see the population now nearing 1 million: “That’s crazy growth,” Judge George said.
Commercial development
While Fort Bend is exploding in population, county leaders have been working to find ways to attract more commercial development.
In addition to the low percentage of residents that work in Fort Bend County, a large chunk – 76 percent – of the county’s property tax base comes from residential properties, putting a tax burden on residents.
This became a cause of concern for county commissioners last summer. In a workshop prompted by Commissioner Andy Meyers, leaders of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council gave a presentation to commissioners court about the loss of two major development opportunities that would have brought more than 15,000 jobs.
This was due to a lack of shovel ready sites – plots of land with infrastructure like water, sewer and electricity already established.
Typically, developers in municipal utility districts (MUD) or tax increment revinvest zones (TIRZ) pay the cost of putting down infrastructure and are reimbursed for the cost of the work.
But many commercial developers, especially companies coming from outside of the United States, have a short window to make site selections and want land that is ready to go, Fort Bend County’s economic development director Carlos Guzman said.
To address this issue, commissioners Andy Meyers and Dexter McCoy are looking to work with legislators to create industrial sites within the county. This would allow the county to cover the cost of putting down public infrastructure and make Fort Bend a more attractive place for companies to plant roots.
“If we can already light up that site with power, then that cuts down the development process for a developer by at least 18 to 24 months, and so we become that much more attractive to a potential site selector,” McCoy said.
While the county can get public utilities like water and sewer to these sites, getting Centerpoint to place electricity requires help from the state. Because Centerpoint is state regulated, the county doesn’t have control on when electricity can be installed to these potential industrial sites.
“Even though you have a site that has everything else, you’re going to be at a competitive disadvantage,” Guzman said of sites without electricity.
McCoy said that the county has not yet approached local legislators yet, but hopes to have something in the works for the next legislative session.
Judge George said many new developments such as Austin Point are dedicating space within the planned residential communities for commercial development and new job opportunities. But acknowledged the importance of a diversification of tax revenue.
“You cannot depend on just residential tax base to run a county,” George said.
Mobility + Infrastructure
Even as it ranks one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, Fort Bend still has room to grow.
Currently, 60 percent of the county is undeveloped, George said.
The goal is to try and stay ahead of the population that’s coming, but Guzman says that’s proven to be a difficult task.
“The challenge is always keeping up with the infrastructure, because you cannot build roads fast enough to accommodate all this growth,” he said.
One of the major developments is plans to expand the Fort Bend County Toll Road over the Brazos River at Sienna. The goal is to help the flow of traffic throughout the county and open up more opportunities for development on the west side of Brazos River.
“If it takes you 30 minutes to get anywhere then it takes away from the charm.” Guzman said.
While McCoy applauds efforts to increase mobility, he wants to ensure that the county is taking an intentional approach that will increase transportation options for all residents.
“It can’t just be about expanding concrete, it also has to be about what are the other modes of transportation that we’re going to employ to get people around?” he said.
Angie Wierzbicki, a Missouri City resident, said she’d like to see more multi-modal transportation models.
“Obviously, we have a huge growth in numbers. We do need roads, but I wish there was also emphasis on other transportation,” she said.
The demand for alternative transportation is clear. According to data from Fort Bend Transit – the county’s park and ride service – the organization made more than 11,700 trips in the month of May with an average of 536 trips per day.
McCoy said his office wants to move Fort Bend Transit from a demand response system to a fixed route system. But as the county continues to grow, it will take intentional planning to ensure the transit systems buses can easily navigate through new neighborhoods and reach residents.
With the expansions of the Fort Bend County Toll Road and Grand Parkway, it will create opportunities for development in areas of the county that have historically haven’t.
“Those million people that are coming to the county, they got to go somewhere, and they’re coming to those areas that are currently not populated.” Guzman said.
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