Houston Chronicle

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Cheney
615-202-8936
jim.cheney@southernland.com

Southern Land Company Names VP of Development for Houston Market

Shay Shafie, P.E. to Lead Sugar Land Redevelopment Project

Sugar Land, Texas – Southern Land Company, LLC – a leading developer of mixed-use communities – has named Shay Shafie, P.E. as the vice president of development for its Houston operations.

Shafie will lead the firm’s Sugar Land office. He will be responsible for development and infrastructure-related activities in support of a multi-million dollar community to be located on the former Imperial Sugar factory and mill property. This proposed, mixed-use community’s plans are being submitted to the City of Sugar Land this month.

Southern Land Company, in conjunction with Cherokee Investment Partners, is developing 650-acres of property previously owned by the century-old Imperial Sugar Company (Imperial). The city of Sugar Land grew significantly in Imperial’s economic wake, and the company’s headquarters is still located adjacent to the development site. The site, which served as Imperial’s sugar refinery and mill, will be transformed into commercial, retail and residential opportunities within a neighborhood setting.
Prior to joining Southern Land Company, Shafie served as vice president of land development for Park Lake Communities, L.P. (a division of Roycebuilders.com) of Houston, Texas. In this position, Shafie was responsible for overseeing all of the company’s development projects in the Houston and Phoenix, Arizona markets.
Specific projects in the greater Houston market include: Cypress Lake Crossing in Harris County, and Spring Water Village in Baytown, Texas. Projects outside of Houston included: Tortuga Dunes, Mustang Island, Texas; Villas of Las Palma, Galveston Island, Texas; and Dominion Creek, Casa Grande, Arizona.
From 1999 until 2004, Shafie was a land development manager for the Johnson Development Corp. in Houston. His responsibilities included working with local municipalities, administrative staffs, and political leaders to drive new development projects in the Sugar Land and the city of Missouri City markets. One of the largest projects while with Johnson Development Corp. was Riverstone, a 2,800-acre master planned community in the City of Sugar Land/City of Missouri City.
Shafie received his bachelor of science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas in 1992. He became a licensed professional engineer in the State of Texas in July 1998. He is a Fort Bend County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Forum Graduate and currently serves as a board member for the Harris County Utility Municipal District No. 360.
-30-