A City partnership with Southern Land Company, Cherokee Investment Partners and Newland Communities resulted in two Houston Business Journal (HBJ) Landmark awards. 

The Imperial Sugar Refinery Site project won an award in the category of “2008 Land Deal,” with judges citing the numerous partners in the deal and resolution of multiple challenges through cooperation among public and private entities.

Property once owned by the Imperial Sugar Company in Sugar Land, Texas—a town west of Houston that has been the company’s home base since operations began in 1843—is being developed into a 650-acre mixed-use community that incorporates commercial and retail space, as well as single-family homes. Environmental remediation began in March, and construction of the first phase of the project is expected to begin early next year.

The Southern Land Co., which is developing the former Imperial Sugar refinery in conjunction with Cherokee Investment Partners, held another public meeting Wednesday night to gather public comment on the commercial portion of the project.

The meeting focused on the historic buildings located on the property such as the Char House and water towers. Previous public meetings have centered on an estimated 800 to 1,000 new homes the developer plans to put on the more than 650 acres. The Imperial Sugar Co., one of Texas' first companies, closed in 2003. By 2009, the developer expects to begin the transformation of the property into an old-fashioned walkable neighborhood with a regional commercial attraction.

The Southern Land Co. and Cherokee developers have again asked Sugar Land residents how they want the Imperial Sugar Refinery property to be developed.

"You can have suburbs that function as urban cores," Cheney said. "That creates community pride and when people leave for college they want to come back."

Shay Shafie has been named vice president of development for the Houston operations of Southern Land Co. The company, in conjunction with Cherokee Investment Partners, is developing 650 acres previously owned by Imperial Sugar Co. in Sugar Land.

In this edition of the NAI Nashville Market Report podcast, I spoke with Timothy Downey the President and CEO of the Southern Land Company about their new mixed-use development in the Cool Springs area called McEwen.

Local builder Bruce Hancock has always been interested in using energy-efficient technology in the homes he builds. When he started drawing up plans for his own home, he met with a heating and cooling engineer who mentioned a word he hadn't heard before: geothermal. When the engineer used the phrase "save over 50 percent in electricity costs," Hancock had heard enough. He was in.

On February 4, Southern Exposure Magazine and Franklinis.com held a banquet for all of the 2007 Sizzle Award finalists. Southern Land Company was voted Best Builder/Developer in Williamson County for the second year in a row. With the amount of growth and development in this county, it is a huge honor to be named the best.

When planning for Westhaven was under way, Southern Land Co. spokesman Jim Cheney was tasked with coming up with unique street names for the community. He drew his inspiration from his personal interest: literature. Soon, streets with names such as Kerouac, Tennyson and Yeats will be home to Westhaven residents.