After sitting empty for more than a decade, the hulking former hospital at 25660 Kingsland Blvd in Katy is finally on the verge of a comeback. The two-story complex is being overhauled into a state-licensed assisted living community, and developers say work is close to the finish line. If the facility clears upcoming life-safety inspections, it could begin welcoming residents as early as July, trading one of Katy’s most visible ghost buildings for much-needed housing and services for older adults.
Inside, construction crews are focused on the last round of touch-ups. Project manager Austin Zhao has described paper still taped along the hallway floors while workers wrap up interior finishes. Developer spokesman Jeffrey Reich-Hale told city leaders that asbestos remediation and a few other surprises slowed progress, according to Covering Katy News.
Council Sign-Off and Timeline
The Katy City Council voted on May 11 to approve an amendment to the project’s special-use permit, following an earlier recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission on April 14. Developers told council members that the original special-use permit dates back to 2019 and that certificate-of-occupancy inspections, along with a required life-safety check, would all be completed before anyone moves in. The sequence of approvals and inspections was outlined by the Houston Chronicle.
What Residents Will Find
City application materials describe roughly 90 residential units supported by on-site care services, including meals, help with activities of daily living and basic wellness monitoring. Planned amenities include dining and kitchen areas, wellness and therapy rooms, laundry and housekeeping services and common spaces for social events and fitness programming. These details come from the developer’s filing with the city, as reported by Covering Katy News.
Property Size and Past Listing
The first and second floors together encompass more than 100,000 square feet, and past commercial listings pegged the site at about 101,000 square feet of health-care space. A LoopNet listing highlighted the building’s size and marketed it as an assisted-living opportunity. The city’s CPZ public hearing notice for the April 14 review is included in the City of Katy public-hearing documents.
Neighbors and Next Steps
Project managers say the assisted living center will be staffed around the clock, but they expect it to generate far less emergency traffic than the hospital once did. Two new restaurants are also planned nearby: one centered on breakfast buffets and another billed as a high-end Chinese restaurant specializing in duck. Names and opening dates for those spots have not yet been released. Local officials told reporters they are pleased to see the long-dormant property finally put back to use, according to the Houston Chronicle.
