Annual Report 2022

SUGAR LAND OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ABOUT SUGAR LAND

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Learn more about the sweetest city in Texas

Learn more about the Sugar Land Development Corporation and the Sugar Land 4B Corporation

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Major projects accomplished by the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development

Sweet success in 2022 SWEET

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Read more about the major marketing success we accomplished this year

Take a glance at our fiscal year 2022 income statement

ABOUT SUGAR LAND

Sugar Land’s pro-business climate and family-oriented quality of life attract everything from vast company headquarters to innovative startups, making the city an economic powerhouse within the Greater Houston region.

The Sugar Land Texas Office of Economic Development was established in 1999 to ensure the City of Sugar Land is a great place to live and work. We’re the first port of call for businesses looking for Sugar Land Texas information. This fast-growing city offers a high quality of life and an abundance of business opportunities. We continue to improve and promote Sugar Land’s exceptional location, diverse talent and solid infrastructure to maintain a vibrant local economy.

We offer an integrated approach of programs and services to support the expansion and retention of existing major employers within the city of Sugar Land and the attraction of companies that offer high-impact jobs. Additionally, our office focuses on attracting event producers to host special events and targeting business and leisure travelers. Our department is broken down into four divisions as seen below:

NEXT DOOR TO THE 4TH LARGEST CITY IN THE U.S. - HOUSTON

Sugar Land’s close proximity to the fourth largest city in the United States makes it a prime location for the manufacture and distribution of goods. The major freeway and transportation line Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 runs diagonally through Sugar Land and into the heart of Houston, with eight main lanes east of State Highway 6, connecting with multiple major interstates and highways. This network of major roadway allows businesses to transport goods quickly and efficiently to the area’s airports, ports and rail lines.

Nestled in the heart of Fort Bend County, one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, Sugar Land offers a culture-filled life set in a beautiful natural backdrop. Life in the city also offers a large diversity of retail, dining and entertainment to attract new residents, employees and even those looking for a date night in Sugar Land.

ABOUT SUGAR LAND OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Sugar Land Development Corporation

The Sugar Land Development Corporation (SLDC) is a “Type A” economic development corporation authorized under Texas law to levy an economic development sales tax to promote, assist and enhance economic development activities for the benefit of the City.

Projects the SLDC supported include Smart Financial Centre, city capital improvement projects, Sugar Land Town Square infrastructure, Sugar Land Regional Airport and the University of Houston at Sugar Land campus.

Since inception, total sales tax revenues for the Sugar Land Development Corporation totaled $128,720,127.

Sugar Land 4B Corporation

The Sugar Land 4B Corporation (SL4B) is a “Type B” economic development corporation created to promote, assist and enhance economic development activities and quality of life opportunities within the City of Sugar Land and to encourage economic development.

Projects the SL4B supported include the University of Houston at Sugar Land campus, Sugar Land Town Square infrastructure, Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land and Constellation Field.

Since inception, total sales tax revenues for the Sugar Land 4B Corporation totaled $126,120,845.

PROJECTS

The Sugar Land Office of Economic Development (SLOED) has continued to be proactive in capitalizing on opportunities to expand, construct or relocate businesses to the city to ensure Sugar Land remains an economic powerhouse within the Houston region.

These proactive efforts ensure a strong economy, support quality services for Sugar Land residents and allow the city to maintain the second lowest tax rate in the state among cities of similar size. SLOED works with many of Sugar Land’s primary employers and local businesses to help them navigate through what they need to succeed, grow and expand. A notable projection completion this year included:

YEAR

Total Capital Investment Announced $4,600,000

Headquartered in Sugar Land since 2007, CVR Energy is a diversified holding company that is primarily engaged in petroleum refining and the nitrogen fertilizer business. CVR Energy, which is Sugar Land Town Square’s largest current tenant, announced that the company renewed its lease and plans to renovate its office space in Sugar Land following a direct incentive agreement with SLOED.

SLOED retained CVR Energy by providing $1 million direct incentive that will be paid over the course of ten years. In turn, CVR Energy will invest $4.6 million in tenant improvements while also retaining its 165 current employees with an average salary of $85,000.

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Job Retained Projects Announced

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CVR Energy

Sugar Land Town Square

Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation, headquartered in Sugar Land, recently completed the construction of its third Sugar Land location, a 128,000-squarefoot facility and opened its doors on December 12, 2022.

Led by recognized Houston developer Midway, developer of CITYCENTRE and Century Square, the $18 million expansion at Bluebonnet Nutrition’s Sugar Land Business Park location will more than triple the company’s existing workforce of 100 employees, adding 200 new jobs with an average annual salary of $78,000.

Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation is a family-owned company that manufactures nutritional supplements. The company offers amino acids and protein powders, multivitamins and mineral formulas, children’s nutrition, vitamins, minerals, food supplements and soy products. Headquartered in Sugar Land since 1998, the expanded Business Park location will be used as a mixture of office, research and development and manufacturing space. Bluebonnet’s new product is adding more capacity in the capsule and tablet unit, with anticipated inventory values at $11 million.

Accredo Packaging, Inc. (API) manufactures and supplies sustainable high added value flexible packaging predominantly for the pre-packaged foods and consumer products markets in North America. Sugar Land is the location of the corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility for API.

SLOED assisted with API’s fourth expansion in Sugar Land, bringing its total campus development to 578,000 square feet in 2021.

Accredo Packaging, Inc. broke ground on its fourth expansion in Sugar Land which includes the development of a two-story, 83,000 square foot building with covered parking on the first level and approximately 40,000 square feet of office space. The project was furthered thanks to a tax abatement agreement approved by the City of Sugar Land in 2021, with the commitment to secure $9.5 million in additional capital investment, 30 new jobs, and the retention of 525 jobs through 2031.

Accredo Packaging, Phase IV

PG Golf, the world’s largest recycled golf ball manufacturer, recently completed an expansion into an 87,000 square foot industrial building. The project maintains 125 jobs in Sugar Land, adds 10 new jobs and brings in approximately $2.5 million in capital investment.

The Sugar Land-based manufacturer retrieves, recycles and then resells golf balls with the new facilities allowing for state-of-the-art operation. The expansion includes many impressive new capabilities including an AI-based Vision Systems for sortation and a golf ball refinishing operation using Titleist Golf Ball Company technology and know-how.

“We’re thrilled PG Golf chose to complete this major expansion in Sugar Land. Businesses like PG Golf are to vital Sugar Land’s economy. This expansion helps to enrich our diverse business community while also providing key capital investment.” said Elizabeth Huff, Director of Economic Development.

On November 1, SLOED launched a new incentive program. The incentive program provides $6,000 per job for qualified businesses to retain office headquarters in Sugar Land. To qualify for the new incentive program, office headquarters must retain at least 50 primary jobs and renew the lease for five to 10 years within the city limits. The program also requires a minimum of $1 million capital investment to be allocated toward build out or office improvements.

Imperial Plaza Office Building

BUSINESS PREPAREDNESS SESSION EVENT

SLOED in partnership with the Office of Emergency Management, the Public Works Department, the Environmental and Neighborhood Services Department and CenterPoint Energy, invited multiple Sugar Land businesses to learn more about the business resources that are available to them during inclement weather conditions that may impact the City.

The event took place on September 14 at The Milano Event Center in Sugar Land and welcomed over 30 attendees.

To view a recap video of the event, please scan the QR code to view

Caroline Egan, Emergency Management Coordinator presenting at the SLOED Emergency Preparedness Session

Track

In 2022, Cup of Joe-Y came to Sugar Land offering a networking space for entrepreneurs and residents to discuss innovative ideas and build community over coffee. The event is hosted at the Sugar Land Town Square Community Center from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. every second Tuesday of the month.

In May 2022, the Sugar Land 4B Corporation (SL4B) approved $486,000 in funding for a new pump track in Sugar Land. The agreement with the American Ramp Company includes the construction of a 22,436 square foot track with space for both beginners and advanced bikers. This track will serve passionate bikers in both Sugar Land while also attracting visitors from across the region.

To learn more about this project, scan the QR code.

Cup Of Joe-Y

Pump

The Texas Economic Development (TEDC) Council’s Winter 2022 Conference was hosted at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land. SLOED kicked off the day by hosting a discussion titled “Showcasing Sugar Land from a Public Private Partnership Perspective.”

The panel was moderated by Devon Rodriguez, Deputy Director of Economic Development and provided attendees with insight into our award-winning Public Private Partnerships with Sugar Land Town Square, Constellation Field, Smart Financial Centre and the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land. Panelists included Gary Becker (Ambassador Theatre Group), Creighton Kahoalii (Houston Astros/ Sugar Land Space Cowboys), Kavita Self (Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land) and Don Janssen (Planned Community Developers, Ltd.).

SPACE COWBOYS

DEBUT AS A TRIPLE-A AFFILIATE TEAM AND INVITES FANS TO ENJOY AN IMPROVED CONSTELLATION FIELD

In 2007, the City of Sugar Land launched a plan to drive economic growth by investing in local entertainment and amenities.

As part of this vision, the City and local developers worked together to build Constellation Field, with $36 million of public-private funding organized by SL4B and the goal to one day serve as home to a Triple-A baseball team.

In April of 2021, that dream came true and the baseball team previously known as the Sugar Land Skeeters was officially acquired by the Houston Astros and named the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Triple-A Affiliate of the Major League franchise.

The City of Sugar Land committed $10 million of SL4B funds to renovate the stadium over a three-year period with the Astros planning to invest several million more in the coming years. Improvements in the first year included new full field stadium netting, new batting cages and a complete redesign of weight rooms and clubhouses.

Other upgrades visitors got to enjoy was their all-new Galaxy Gift Team Store, a renovated

Regions Bank Club, Moonshot Alley, Kinetic Loge Boxes and a Karbach Cantina to name a few. The move from independent to Triple-A baseball is estimated to generate $10 million more in economic impact per year. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Astros’ partnership and all the benefits that come with it will further establish Sugar Land as a city invested in its residents with a quality of life unmatched by any other suburb in the Houston metro area.

SWEET STORIES OF 2022

KENSINGTON PARKLET

RIBBON CUTTING

JUNE 2022

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

In 2022, SLOED launched the Community Development division to support the City’s redevelopment initiatives. As the City enters a new stage in its life cycle, redevelopment has been identified as key priority to increase revenue streams and maintain low property taxes that will promote economic development for long-term financial sustainability while preserving Sugar Land’s quality of life for current and future residents. With only four percent of the City’s land remaining undeveloped, it is important to redefine growth and make changes now to ensure Sugar Land’s future. The primary goals include updating development rules, managing future land use, and encouraging redevelopment and infill

new development on vacant areas such as, the Imperial Historic District site and Lake Pointe. By optimizing our space with mixed-use developments, we can have walkable areas with commercial, residential and retail options. Additionally, Community Development will be responsible for the Asset Management Program of the City-owned destination venues like Constellation Field and Smart Financial Centre.

PLACEMAKING

As part of the #ALLINFORSLTX initiative, the Request for Placemaking program provided funding for innovative and creative projects that would increase business resiliency and revitalize underutilized spaces in Sugar Land.

THE ROUXPOUR

As part of the #AllInForSLTX initiative, SLOED granted The Rouxpour a New Orleans-inspired restaurant located at Sugar Land Town Square to construct building and infrastructure improvements to increase outdoor dining capacity at the restaurant.

The improvements proposed by The Rouxpour will expand the outside food service seating capacity and will create a new dedicated curbside/take-out area. The project is expected to be completed in 2023. This addition to Sugar Land Town Square will be made possible through funding from the SL4B Corporation.

SUGAR LAND’S SECOND PARKLET

Sugar Land’s second parklet was created at the Kensington Plaza at Lakeside on June 7, 2022 as part of the #AllInForSLTX initiative. This pilot project is a public seating platform that transforms curbside parking spaces into an engaging community space that will attract visitation to local businesses.

SUGAR LAND HOSTS TOWN HALL ON IMPERIAL CHAR HOUSE REDEVELOPMENT

On December 8 and 15, the City and PUMA Development hosted town halls to receive public input on the possible redevelopment of the iconic Imperial Char House. The City and PUMA are committed to preserving the Char House’s unique history while encouraging public engagement for the proposed mixed-use project. Stay tuned in 2023 for what’s to come for this historic site.

MARKETING SUCCESS

2022 was the year of momentum for Sugar Land’s Office of Economic Development. Ending the year with more than 136 million media impressions, Sugar Land’s story was told far and wide, appearing in rankings like Fortune’s Best Places to Live for Families and ten feature episodes of Tom Wilmer’s NPR/ KCBX podcast Journeys of Discovery.

Beginning our partnership in 2019, SLOED and Development Counsellors International (DCI) have continuously worked together to create an evolving, comprehensive digital marketing plan with the goal of positioning Sugar Land as a strategic location for business investment and talent attraction. With headlines and digital campaigns ranging from business spotlights to elevating thought leaders and community efforts, Sugar Land was featured in 25 unique stories, with SLOED and DCI working together to harness media relationships with local outlets such as the Houston Chronicle and national media like MSN.

Elevating Sugar Land’s Story Through Thought Leadership

An entrepreneurial spirit can be felt throughout the City of Sugar Land – the “Sugar Land Way” widely exemplified by everyday residents and leaders in the community. A large part of our media

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ECONOMY AT A GLANCE

relations strategy revolved around elevating community examples to demonstrate industry depth and expertise. Featured in Business Facilities Magazine’s March/April print issue and Site Selection Magazine’s A Decade of Dominance Texas Guide 2022, Sugar Land businesses like Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation, Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, Accredo Packaging, HCSS, SLB, Champion X, PG Golf, Helix, Inc. and more were profiled to showcase innovation spreading throughout the greater Houston region.

Sugar Land’s city leaders were also elevated through storytelling, securing media opportunities for a variety of stakeholders including Mayor Zimmerman, SLOED leadership, Sugar Land Parks and Recreation, Visit Sugar Land and more.

62% with Bachelor Degree and Higher Median Household Income

$123,261 Population

109,373

(Source: Census)

COMMERCIAL REAL STATE

Elevating Sugar Land’s Story Through Community Efforts

Balancing economically-focused storylines with talent attraction messaging, Sugar Land was continuously positioned as a great place to live, work and visit. Coverage throughout the year detailed Sugar Land as a safe, diverse and highly educated community, earning mentions in outlets such as Wealth of Geeks, MSN, CultureMap Houston, NPR and Fortune.

Elevating Sugar Land’s Story Through Digital Campaigns

Our digital advertising campaigns worked in harmony with our national media relations program to complement strategies and further amplify reach. While advertising campaigns worked tirelessly around the clock to promote Sugar Land’s online presence, DCI/SLOED worked alongside to improve content, generate leads and better engage target audiences.

8.8M

INDUSTRIAL/ FLEX INVENTORY 11.8M

RETAIL INVENTORY 10.4M

OCCUPANCY (%)

61.4%

AVERAGE DAILY RATE ($) $104.33

REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM ($) $64.16

Source: STR, Costar, BLS, ESRI2021

Source: STR, Costar, BLS, ESRI2021

(Source: CoStar)

Cullinan Park

TOURISM MARKETING

This past year, Visit Sugar Land (VSL) – the tourism division of the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development (SLOED) responsible for positioning Sugar Land as a premier destination city focused on innovative ways to attract visitors. The following annual highlights showcase just a few of the ways Visit Sugar Land’s innovative leadership grew the city’s tourism brand, as well as the city’s top leisure destination partners.

DESTINATION PARTNERS

Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land

The Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land celebrated its first full year of operation since the COVID-19 shutdown and saw an estimated attendance of over 300,000 guests in 2022. With a robust variety of music, comedy and special events, the venue welcomed 90 dates of established talent including Hasan Minhaj, Ron White, JoKoy, Pentatonix, Tears for Fears, Tomorrow x Together, Gloria Trevi, Alicia Keys and many more.

Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land

Situated in one of Sugar Land’s historic buildings, the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land welcomed more than 82,000 attendees this past year. Highlights for the year included the summer special exhibit, Expedition Egypt, with 8,000 attendees, (Visitor breakdown: 26% field trips and 74% general public and museum member visitors, equally split between adults and children.)

Family friendly events like Pi Day, Nature Programs weekly, Halloween Magical Maze Festival and Cookies with Santa make the museum a destination for families.

Space Cowboys Campaign

VSL launched a spring campaign in support of the Space Cowboys being a Triple-A Affiliate team during their Opening Day. There were a series of experiential marketing activations that took place to help create buzz and generate excitement for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Opening Day.

ACTIVATIONS

Created a promotional baseball video that garnered approximately 11k views on YouTube.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Singing Contest

Invited the city council members to participate in the Space Cowboys Recognition “Space Cowboys Day”

Meet and Greet with Sugar Land Space Cowboys Mascot Orion and Street Team at multiple locations.

SLOED partnered with the Sugar Land Fire Department to custom wrap a Space Cowboys themed truck to active a “Spot the Fire truck” campaign throughout the city.

Partnered with First Colony Mall and muralist Donkeeboy to create a custom Space Cowboys mural at the mall with a @ VisitSugarLand call to action.

Partnered with local restaurants to create Space Cowboys themed drinks and food and special room rates with hotel partners.

Summer Campaign – Biking in Sugar Land

In the summer VSL launched a summer campaign biking video to capitalize on the popularity the Brazos River Park trails have experienced within the past few years. The video ran on connected TV platforms like Roku and Hulu that garnered approximately 84,000 impressions and a video completion rate of 95% which is a 35% increase above the benchmark of 70-75%. Additionally, VSL ran a YouTube campaign that garnered over 88,000 views.

Space Cowboys Fire Truck Unveiling

12 Days of Sweetness GIVEWAYS

SALES & MEETINGS

12 Days of Sweetness - Holiday Campaign

Additionally, in the winter VSL activated its final campaign of the year by launching a 12 Days of Sweetness giveaways from December 11 to December 22. There was a total of 12 giveaways, all which featured our top leisure destinations, restaurants and hotels. The final campaign continued to be aligned with the overall goal of supporting local businesses and attracting visitors to Sugar Land.

VSL through its partnership with Visit Houston, utilization of Cvent and direct leads from the VSL website disseminated thirty-four (34) leads to Sugar Land’s ten (10) hotel partners in 2022.

VISITOR CENTER

The Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center (SLHMVC) moved to a seasonal schedule in February 2022. The museum and visitor center welcomed a total of 171 visitors throughout the year with a majority leaving with a feeling of “Very Satisfied.” Most visitors are coming from the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area, with the largest group being from Sugar Land. During the year, VSL staff welcomed visitors from California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Canada.

The total revenue realized from the leads originating from VSL was $86,321.34, and the total revenue realized from meeting services assistance was $94,389.39.

Fifty-six (56) events were reviewed and permitted through the Event Review Committee, including one (1) event at the Crown Festival Park at Sugar Land and five (5) events at the Plaza Adjacent to Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. A total of 144,731 expected attendees participated between all permitted events. VSL staff collected $2,509.75 in application fees and $5,584.75 in rental fees.

CULTURAL ARTS

In March 2022, a sculpture bench entitled Crush, the Alligator was unveiled in Lonnie Green Park. The seating sculpture was created by California-based artist Colin Selig. Crush is composed of repurposed scrap steel propane tanks and was designed as a climate conscious artwork, containing 99 percent post-consumer reused material. The artwork’s unique color and design were created to be the only one of its kind in the state of Texas.

Cultural Arts also assisted Visit Sugar Land for their commission of a mural by Houston-based artist Donkeeboy to celebrate the launch of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. The mural is located at First Colony Mall on the rear wall of Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet and was unveiled on May 27, 2022.

In August, Cultural Arts dedicated its third installment of vinyl traffic box wrap artworks, in partnership with the Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation. This year, 13 wraps by 10 local artists were installed along HWY 6 from Austin Parkway to Hull Lane. Each design was inspired by the theme “Sugar Land Looks Ahead.” Artists were honored with a dedication event at the Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center on September 15, 2022.

Sugar Land Development Corporation

INCOME STATEMENT S L 4 B

Sugar Land 4B Corporation