KATY, Texas – It looks like Katy could one day join the ranks of other Houston area suburbs in getting a new town center.
Phase one of the plan starts with construction of a new city hall.
Just last week Katy city council members approved about $7 million from its reserve funds for a brand new facility. It will be built across the street from the old city hall at 910 Avenue C. Katy's tourism marketing specialist, Kayce Reina, says once the new city hall is built, the old one will be torn down.
In its place, one idea being tossed around is a grassy town square.
"We want a place for residents and tourists alike to come and enjoy an outdoor space," Reina said.
The idea of a town square is nothing new. Houston suburbs like Pearland, The Woodlands and Sugar Land already have successful centers, but Reina says Katy's town square would be a little different.
"People enjoy the nostalgia of a small town and I think in some cases that nostalgia has been shifted away for the new and glamorized cookie cutter effects," Reina said.
She says the Katy town square would consist of small businesses already in the downtown Katy area.
The historic Katy Water Tower also isn't going anywhere. But there will be some additions, like new street signage and possibly replacing some of the paved streets with cobblestone.
Reina says it will be a mix of the old and new, which will hopefully make downtown Katy a destination.
Construction on the new city hall will start between November and January. It should last about 18 months. After that, Reina says city leaders will start looking at plans for the nearby town square.
There have also been talks about a town square in the City of Fulshear. City leaders tell Local 2 that no plans are in place yet, but developers have been tossing out ideas.