The city of Pearland recently approved a rezoning request for a major mixed-use development near Hwy. 288 that city leaders hope will keep residents from going to other cities for major events, shopping and dining—while also attracting visitors from other Houston suburbs such as Sugar Land and Katy.

About the project: Pearland City Council voted unanimously to approve a zoning change for the planned development, The Orchard at Lower Kirby, previously known as the Gateway to Pearland, at its March 16 meeting. 

The details: The 122-acre mixed-use development would be located near the intersection of Beltway 8 and Hwy. 288, according to city documents.

How we got here: Don Janssen, CEO of Planned Community Developers, said that over the decades, other developers have tried to build major commercial developments in this area and failed, such as the attempt to build a shopping center, where only Bass Pro Shops now exists.

Texas Mattress Makers opened a showroom in Pearland in early March, a representative of the business confirmed.

The details: The mattress manufacturer and retail store features a variety of handmade mattresses and bedding products, including custom options for trucks, RVs and antique bed frames.

• 9430 W Broadway St., Pearland

Over the last five years, more than half of public school districts across the Greater Houston area lost students, with one district seeing a more than 15% decline in enrollment, according to Texas Education Agency data released March 6.

The overview: Community Impact analyzed data from the TEA to learn how many students were enrolled at public school districts for the 2025-26 school year compared to the 2021-22 school year. 

Zooming in: The districts with the highest percentage of students gained over the last five years—from 2021-26—are:

• Splendora ISD with 34.6% enrollment growth
• Lamar CISD with 23.3% enrollment growth
• Tomball ISD and New Caney ISD with 14.9% enrollment growth each

• Aldine ISD with 15.4% enrollment decline
• Houston ISD with 13.3% enrollment decline
• Pasadena ISD with 10.5% enrollment decline
• Alief ISD with 10.4% enrollment decline

On March 20, student doctors at Sam Houston State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine celebrated Match Day and learned where they would go for their residencies.

Some context: Student doctors interview with residency programs across the country, and submit a ranked list of the residency programs where they’d like to train, COM Dean Thomas Mohr said. The residency programs also rank the students they’ve interviewed, and after the preferences are processed, student doctors are paired with residency programs.

By the numbers: According to a March 20 news release:

• COM’s residency placement rate exceeded 99%.
• Almost 66% of student doctors will remain in Texas for their residencies.
• A little over 51% of student doctors matched into primary care specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
• 26% of student doctors matched into emergency medicine.