The vice chair of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 opened the meeting and heard a final development update on Townsquare, where staff said events, marketing and a recently approved reinvestment will be the focus after the zone’s term ends.

A development presenter summarized performance across Townsquare and the surrounding mall, saying Townsquare’s annual visitation is about 4,000,000 while the mall attracts about 7,000,000 visitors. The presenter said restaurant and retail occupancy has declined — from 82% in 2024 to 69% in the latest count — while on-site condos (167 units) are at full occupancy and hotel revenues have increased. “So these events are really what drive people here and really help the tenants,” the presenter said, urging continued investment in programming and marketing.

Why it matters: Townsquare’s mix of retail, office and residential underpinned the TIRZ’s goals. With office assessed values reported as “1.8” in 2024 and “1.1” in 2025 (units not specified in the transcript), staff framed the reinvestment as a response to market shifts and to a post‑COVID decline in some office demand.

Staff highlighted recent and planned actions to boost activity. The Sugar Land 4b Corporation approved an event‑marketing sponsorship agreement for 2025 with an option for renewal (reported as $250,000), and the presenter said SLDC and SL 4b approved a $12,500,000 reimbursable investment aimed at repositioning Townsquare. The presenter described spending categories for the investment including office tenant improvements, a first‑floor renovation in Building B (home to Bar Louie) and enhancements to plazas, lobbies and signage designed to increase visibility and encourage on‑site activity.

The presenter said some improvements will be oriented to office tenants — new communal meeting spaces, “hatchways” for on‑demand delivery to desks and upgraded entryways — while other pieces will be open to the public. A planned marketing campaign called “ready for something sweeter” was previewed as part of the effort to brand and promote the area.

Staff also said they are exploring adding more multifamily housing in Townsquare consistent with the 2018 land use plan and discussed converting underused office space into more conference or event space to capture demand from larger hotel conferences.

The presenter said a case study of the TIRZ will be released next year to document projected versus actual outcomes and to identify drivers of the area’s transformation. The board treated the update as a report and did not take a formal vote on the development presentation.

What’s next: staff said they will roll out the marketing campaign and seek to coordinate Townsquare events with FIFA‑related community activations in the coming year.