HOUSTON, Texas — The city of Katy on the verge of becoming one of Houston's biggest shopping centers, all thanks to the development of the new Katy Boardwalk.
The construction is just getting started and KHOU 11 News got a sneak peek at what’s coming.
On the far side of Katy Mills Mall, it’s hard hats and mounds of dirt as crews lay the ground for something grand.
“This is a new Katy, and it’s something to be excited about," Council Member Frank Carroll III said.
The renderings show what the future holds. A massive development, the Katy Boardwalk, will be complete with an apartment building, hotel, conference center and lots of retail.
All of it will be centered around one focal point.
“I think the star of the show is this 80-acre lake," Carroll said. "It’s absolutely beautiful, and we haven’t even fully built it out yet."
The detention pond’s purpose is to keep nature nearby.
“You can see it’s already started attracting birds and wildlife that are native species to this area and so that’s what we were going for, is something that is truly natural and something that is integrated into the growth," Carroll said.
The lake is part of a city park, and it will include trails for hiking and biking, even public pavilions.
This first phase of construction is focusing on the first tower of the Boardwalk Lofts, luxury living that’s set to open next spring.
Next, they’ll break ground on the four-star Hyatt Hotel and the convention center, which will be owned by the city.
“We’re putting in $19 million to build the convention center, and we will own the dirt underneath the hotel," Carroll said.
City leaders say you can expect to see construction out there for the next couple of years. They hope to have it open and complete by the end if 2021.
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