Community Impact covered hundreds of stories from the Sugar Land and Missouri City communities in 2025. See which stories were the most read this year.

Carol McCutcheon secures Sugar Land mayor seat: Carol McCutcheon has secured the Sugar Land mayor seat—previously held by Joe Zimmerman—in the June 7 runoff election, according to unofficial election results from Fort Bend County.

Sugar Land approves concept plan for former Fluor Corp. campus: The former Fluor Corp. campus could be redeveloped as soon as 2034, as Sugar Land City Council approved a concept plan for the site at the May 13 meeting.

The development, called Lake Pointe Green, will focus on residential with optional space for commercial use, said officials with Houston-based developer Lovett Commercial.

Fort Bend ISD teachers could make 6 figure salaries with incentive allotment: Fort Bend ISD officials have submitted an application to receive state-funded incentive allotments for teachers based on the district’s local designation system, officials said at the March 24 board meeting.

Several locations throughout the Stafford community are set to undergo renovations and see new construction in the coming months.

These projects were registered in the last four months in the area with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. All information, including costs and timelines, is subject to change.

Dominion Chapel

• Location: 15810 Park Ten Place, Ste. 300, Stafford
• Type of work: additions to existing building
• Timeline: Jan. 1-Dec. 31
• Estimated cost: $2.4 million

• Location: 11123 W Airport Blvd Ste. 300 & 400, Stafford
• Type of work: renovation/alteration
• Timeline: May 25-June 19
• Estimated cost: $414,757

• Location: 11110 W Airport Blvd., Stafford
• Type of work: new construction
• Timeline: May 4-Nov. 2
• Estimated cost: $1.75 million

United Airlines launched its first nonstop service route from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Tepic, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, on Dec. 20, according to a Dec. 22 news release.

The details: With the addition of the route, IAH will now serve as the sole U.S. destination out of the Tepic International Airport, according to the news release. The new route operates once a week on Saturdays, with seasonal service available from mid-December to mid-August. It provides direct access to the Riviera Nayarit region, according to the news release. With the addition of Tepic, United now serves 24 destinations in Mexico and 52 destinations across Latin America from IAH, the news release states.

Also of note: At William P. Hobby Airport, travelers moving through the Central Concourse now have a new sit-down dining option with the December opening of the Yard House, according to a Dec. 22 news release.

After years of being locked in a standstill, planners of the Coastal Texas Project announced the approval of two engineering design contracts.

The details: The Gulf Coast Protection District announced Dec. 2 that it had approved two contracts with global engineering firms Jacobs and HDR to design the gates, beaches and dunes portions of the initially authorized $34 billion project, respectively.

Why it matters: The gates are expected to be the world’s largest flood gate system when built and will be located along the 2-mile-wide waterway between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. The dune system will strengthen coastal barriers against storm impact along the Bolivar Peninsula and West Galveston Island, according to a news release.

Approximately three dozen new Texas laws are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, impacting how artificial intelligence is used in state government, when local officials can raise taxes after natural disasters and how much of businesses' inventory is taxed.

The background: The changes come after Texas’s biennial legislative session ended in early June. Gov. Greg Abbott signed over 1,100 laws passed by state lawmakers, many of which took effect in June or September.

The details: Some of the bills becoming law in the new year are:

• House Bill 9, which will expand a tax exemption for business owners
• House Bill 30, which will tighten regulations on counties' and cities' abilities to raise tax rates after natural disasters
• House Bill 149, which will regulate the fast-growing AI industry
• House Bill 247, which will exempt certain border security infrastructure from property tax increases
• House Bill 1399, which will create a property tax exemption for stores selling animal feed
• House Bill 2508, which will establish a property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of certain military members