Shadow Creek Ranch

Shadow Creek Ranch 20 years later: How a unique partnership paved the way for development Shadow Creek Ranch was made possible by a tax-increment reinvestment zone. It now has a total property value of $2.4 billion, generating $17.5 million in tax revenue last year. In the mid-1990s, Carlo Ferreira, a Las Vegas developer, was invited to Houston to... look at the emerging opportunities in the area. With development already cropping up around the city, Pearland caught his eye. "This is where the opportunity lies," Ferreira said. "I liked the market, and that it was growing." There was one problem: The land he had in mind, some 6 square miles, was nowhere near ready to be developed. The solution to that problem-the creation of a special taxing entity that has since collected $134 million in revenue-was officially enacted 20 years ago this December. The tax increment financing zone, Pearland TIRZ No. 2, is one of the largest such entities in Texas with over 3,900 acres. It is also a public-private partnership that is paying long-lasting dividends, city officials and developers said, with property values now in excess of $2.4 billion. But most people know of this area by another name: Shadow Creek Ranch.Read More