Sugar Land council approves contract for Char House design work

The Sugar Land City Council on November 18 unanimously approved a contract with Houston-based Urbano Architects to perform design work aimed at preserving the Imperial Sugar Char House, the iconic, century-old building that has long been considered the city’s most important landmark.

The vote on the $460,000 agreement is the first tangible move by the Council to begin work on preserving the long-derelict building since it unanimously approved in February the acquisition of the entire Imperial property, which has sat largely dormant since the Imperial Sugar company closed more than two decades ago.

City staff told Council at their Tuesday meeting that Urban Architects was selected because they were both a local firm and had already performed work related the Char House when they were part of an earlier effort by a private firm to redevelop the Imperial district, which ultimately floundered.

“”Preserving the Char House is about more than saving a building. It is about honoring Sugar Land’s history and the generations who built this community,” Mayor Carol McCutcheon said in a news release. “This work prepares the Char House for future redevelopment and ensures that generations of Sugar Landers can continue to experience a tangible piece of our city’s story as we shape its next chapter.”

This initial phase of preservation work will focus on essential roof, window, and structural repairs meant to halt further deterioration and bring the Char House back to a reusable condition, according the the release. Funding for this phase is included in a $50 million certificate of obligation approved by Council in April.

Earlier this month, the city held a series of Imperial Visioning Sessions in partnership with the Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative in which residents, businesses, and other stakeholders were able to offer their ideas on the redevelopment of the Imperial district.

“This announcement comes on the heels of an incredibly successful week of community workshops,” Devon Rodriguez, the city’s redevelopment director, said in the news release. “It represents the momentum we’re carrying forward as we continue to move from visioning to action, with plans to release a request for qualifications early next year to identify a private development partner.”

According to the release, TPUDC is scheduled to deliver the final deliverable to the city by the end of this year. Staff expects to have the final visioning document available for public view on the project webpage by early 2026. In Spring 2026, the City will move forward with a master developer selection process to advance the community’s vision for the site, according to the release.

Urbano will begin preservation design services immediately, which is expected to take approximately four months to complete. Preservation work is anticipated to start in April 2026 and take 18 to 24 months.

For more information on the Imperial Historic District preservation project and visioning process, including recordings of the opening and closing visioning meetings, visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/imperialhistoricdistrict.

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