Manvel Pushes Back Presidio Decision Again
Manvel Pushes Back Presidio Decision Again
Manvel Pushes Back Presidio Decision Again Manvel City Council has once again put off a decision on the Presidio, a large mixed use development planned east of Hwy. 288 along Hwy. 6, just south of Del Bello Lakes. At its Oct. 19 meeting, council didn't discuss the project, but Mayor Dan Davis said more work is needed on the utility agreement, impact fees and how the project's building phases are defined. This is the second delay in a row, since council also postponed the vote on Oct. 5. The Presidio could bring stores like Target and Kroger, a possible MD Anderson Cancer Center and new roads linking Hwy. 6 to the Hwy. 288 frontage road and Manvel Parkway. The plan has changed a lot since it was first presented in June. The original version included 58 acres of homes, but that housing has been cut so more land can hold stormwater. The area set aside for drainage and detention has almost doubled, from about 78 acres to nearly 144 acres, and close to 3 acres of planned park space was removed. Water is also a major concern in another way: city officials have said Manvel doesn't currently have enough capacity to supply water to the development. Until these issues are worked out, council has taken no action and plans to bring the project back at a future meeting. Pearland's experience with a similar project shows a different story. In March, Pearland City Council voted unanimously to approve a zoning change for The Orchard at Lower Kirby, a 122 acre mixed use development near the intersection of Beltway 8 and Hwy. 288. One big difference is water. Pearland has spent years building up its supply, and it now has the capacity to pump 44 million gallons per day, including 10 million gallons added when its new Surface Water Treatment Plant opened in October 2024. Manvel, on the other hand, is still catching up, with its water reclamation project expected to be finished in early 2027. Both cities want big developments with shopping, jobs and services, but Manvel's slower pace shows how much a city's water and drainage plans can shape what gets built and how quickly. 