NewQuest Properties will unveil the first wave of store openings Oct. 28 in the 89-acre Grand Morton Town Center, including a much-anticipated 125,531-sf Kroger Marketplace that will change the dynamics of Katy's northern sector.

Despite south Katy's rapid growth, the Kroger Marketplace will be the first grocery store in a three-mile trade area with 23,933 single-family rooftops and an average annual household income of $85,067. The NewQuest project, being developed in phases, ultimately will bring 600,459 sf of retail, restaurants and medical offices to the neighborhood.

Kroger Marketplace builds on the store-within-a-store concept, offering brand-name clothing, Fred Meyer Jewelers and home goods in addition to groceries. Opening in tandem with Kroger will be Ideal Dental, Supercuts, T-Mobile and Today's Vision, totaling 7,700 sf.

"This area is a void for a lot of retailers. And, it's all new growth, new roads, new homes and new schools," says Rebecca Le, vice president of Houston-based NewQuest. Her partner on the project leasing is NewQuest associate Josh Friedlander.

Grand Morton Town Center's frontage along Grand Parkway stretches for more than three-quarters of a mile. The development site is bisected by Morton Ranch Road – 64 acres on the southwest corner and 25 acres on the northeast quadrant. Kroger is anchoring the larger tract while Walmart is under construction on a 186,902-sf store and will open in mid-2017 on the opposite side of the four-lane highway.

Creating additional synergy is Grand Morton Town Center's direct access to Grand Parkway, a 180-mile outer loop encircling Houston, at the last free exit of Interstate 10 N. One of the nation's top-selling communities with resort-style amenities, Cinco Ranch, is five minutes from Grand Morton Town Center while the Energy Corridor is an eight-minute drive and downtown, 30 minutes.

About 60% of Grand Morton Town Center's 600,459 sf is preleased, leased or under negotiation. The project also has 16 pad sites, four of which have been scooped up by McDonald's, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A and Whataburger. The developer anticipates 330,000 sf will to deliver to tenants in late spring. Signed leases are in hand from GNC, Mattress One, Sports Clip, Wing Stop, Subway, Supercuts, Ideal Dental, Grand Morton Animal Hospital, Tender Touch Nails, Great Clips and a Japanese restaurant.