On the corner of the Katy Freeway and the Grand Parkway, workers were busy turning a formerly empty lot into a new shopping center.

"The building we have here is a retail center for primarily food, different types of food in the Asian theme," said Gene Feigelson, broker with Re/Max United, which is marketing the property.

Katy Asian Town will be anchored by H-Mart, a Korean grocery chain, and 60 percent of the 51 separate spaces are already leased – most of them to Chinese businesses.

So will this area be the new Asiatown?

A fact sheet on the development says the Asian population within a 10 minute drive from here has grown by 35 percent from 2011 to 2015 – double the rate of the white population.

And Feigelson says other Asian communities are just a short drive down the Grand Parkway.

"Fort Bend County is just a mile or two south of here," he said. "And Fort Bend County has some of the largest Asian populations in the state of Texas."

He said another big reason for the development is the 46-acre future University of Houston campus here, which is expected to break ground next year. UH and UH-Victoria will offer undergraduate and master's level classes there.

Katy Asian Town is slated to open in September.

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