STAFFORD, Texas – (Realty News Report) – Costco is constructing a new business-focused store along the Southwest Freeway on the site that once housed the Texas Instruments campus.
The 192-acre property, originally known in development plans as Legacy, is now being marketed as The Grid.
StreetLevel Investments and joint-venture partner Provident Realty Advisors announced that Costco Business Center will serve as the anchor tenant for The Grid.
Costco Wholesale Corporation purchased 13 acres and is building roughly 148,000 square feet of retail space within The Grid mixed-use redevelopment, located along I‑69 between Kirkwood Road and West Airport Boulevard in southwest Houston.
The Grid is planned as a walkable urban district combining approximately 350,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment destinations; 2,400 residential units; 500,000 square feet of creative office space; multiple hotel concepts; a premier health club; and a network of pocket parks, jogging and bike trails, and active public spaces.
The new Costco Business Center will be tailored to serve local businesses by offering bulk quantities and business-oriented product selections.
“Costco is the forward-looking and nimble retailer we’ve been seeking in an anchor tenant, bringing a national reputation for its innovative retail strategy,” said Adam Schiller, Managing Principal of StreetLevel Investments. “We are thrilled Costco selected The Grid as the first Houston location for its Business Center concept, and we look forward to a very successful grand opening.”
In addition to two new apartment projects totaling 725 units from JLB Partners, The Grid’s retail and restaurant lineup will include Whiskey Cake Kitchen, Outback Steakhouse, In-N-Out Burger, Pluckers, Torchy’s Tacos, Amegy Bank, AT&T, Chipotle, Verizon, Raising Cane’s, Panda Express, McAlister’s, 7‑Eleven, Great Clips, and other operators.
Large Oaks Preserved
Designed with sustainability in mind, The Grid will preserve dozens of heritage oak trees scattered across the site and incorporate them into the overall design. StreetLevel has engaged Houston-based firms Gensler and TBG as project consultants for the multi-phase, approximately $500 million development.
The multi-story Texas Instruments building and several notable oak trees remain on the property. Jack Kilby, a former Texas Instruments engineer who won the Nobel Prize in Physics, developed the integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. The TI sign that once faced the Southwest Freeway has been removed, as have the adjacent softball fields.
Local Officials Express Enthusiasm
City and county officials celebrated Costco’s selection of The Grid. Stafford’s mayor and two other local leaders used the word “excited” to describe their reactions to the announcement.
“I am excited that Costco has chosen East Fort Bend to launch the first location of its unique Business Center concept in the Houston area,” said Fort Bend County Commissioner Grady Prestage.
The former Texas Instruments property has attracted attention for years; vacant parcels along the Southwest Freeway are uncommon. The site sits just outside the Sam Houston Tollway.
Texas Instruments began discussing a move from Stafford roughly a decade ago. In July 2014, the company opened a 160,000 square-foot building in Sugar Land, near University Boulevard and the Southwest Freeway, though some employees continued to work at the Stafford site for a number of years afterward.
April 10, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: Costco Building New Concept Store
Photo captions: Images show The Grid property in Stafford, Texas, including large oaks. Photo credit: Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report Copyright 2021. The developer stated in a 2021 press release: “The Grid will preserve dozens of heritage oaks located throughout the site.”
For more about Houston development, see the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins. Available on Amazon.