Pearland’s business community is anticipating the completion of three major developments along State Highway 35, as the corridor continues in a transformative redevelopment that promises long-term growth for the region.
One of the developments is Edge Industrial Park, a 36-acre business park developed by Houston-based Stewart Development and located at the southwest corner of SH 35 and McHard Road. Three buildings are constructed and ready for tenants– two at 24,000 and one at 32,000 square feet. Once all construction is complete, the park will offer eight buildings totaling more than 200,000 square feet, designed to meet the needs of midsize, regionally-based light manufacturing and distribution users that have strong employment bases.
Just south along SH 35, the 1613 Main Business Park is a recently completed development. The multi-building business park features 10 flex office/warehouse/manufacturing buildings totaling approximately 124,000 sq ft, with individual units ranging from 6,000 to 17,000 sq ft.
Another site is currently under development by the Hanover Company, also based in Houston. The 22-acre site is located near the northeast corner of Knapp Road and SH 35 and will comprise 300,000 square feet of flex industrial space across two buildings. To support the development, Knapp Road will be reconstructed. The public-private partnership between the Pearland EDC and Hanover will upgrade the road from a two-lane, open-ditch asphalt road to a three-lane concrete road with a new waterline, storm sewer, and detention capacity. The site is currently in the early stages of design, and the timeline for design and construction of the site is anticipated to be approximately 18 months.
To welcome this caliber of business development, the PEDC put significant investment into SH 35 following the complete reconstruction of the corridor for Beltway 8 to Broadway. Those efforts, spanning more than a decade, included a robust streetscaping project and public infrastructure work that would ease the way for developers. The resulting development, in turn, is contributing an enhanced image and sense of place for Pearland, market appeal and an increase in overall taxable value of the area.
“From the beginning, the collaboration with PEDC felt more like a true partnership,” said Brett Barnes, Vice President of Stewart Development. “They saw early on that there was a gap in the real estate market for smaller-footprint, Class-A industrial buildings and helped us move this project forward.”
Pearland’s multi‑phase SH 35 Corridor Redevelopment Strategy, launched in 2015, laid the groundwork for the activity the market is seeing today. By systematically addressing infrastructure, development barriers, and corridor design challenges, the city created an environment where modern business parks could take root. This long‑term, coordinated push was guided by extensive stakeholder engagement and a clear vision for a higher‑quality business environment and is now paying dividends as developers turn their attention to sites that were previously too difficult or costly to pursue.
As part of the State Highway 35 redevelopment strategy, PEDC completed a $6.2 million streetscape project that delivered more than upgraded landscaping and pedestrian spaces along SH 35; it created a more functional, predictable and attractive corridor for new development. Completed in 2019 and maintained by the economic development corporation, the project reinforced the city’s dedication to raising the area’s development standards.
The developments currently underway by Hanover and Stewart promise more improvements to benefit the corridor overall. The collaborative investment in roadways that are easily accessible for 18-wheeler traffic and beautification efforts provides a direct benefit to future developers with interest in the numerous industrial development areas along the northern portion of SH 35 that are primed and ready.
“In Pearland, you’ve got great connectivity, a strong workforce, and a city that really understands what it takes to make projects successful,” said Barnes. “It’s been one of the more efficient and collaborative experiences we’ve had.”
For the employers that ultimately plant their flags in the new developments, there is an additional benefit in Pearland’s quality of life, recently ranked as the #3 Place to Live in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. This is a significant factor in attracting employees who will not only want to work for these specific companies, but also do so in a strong community to both live and work in close proximity.