You may recognize the Cordes name if you live in Sugar Land. Over the years, father and son have helped shape the city into what it is today. Roy Cordes, Sr. was Sugar Land’s mayor from 1972 through 1981 after also serving on the City Council. His son, Roy Cordes, Jr., followed in his father’s footsteps and was also a member of city council from 1981 through 1990. He then became a county judge and worked as Deputy General Counsel for the most Sugar Land of Sugar Land companies, Imperial Sugar Company.
 
Roy Cordes Jr.’s late wife, Helen, also left her own mark helping her Sugar Land neighbors – she is the namesake behind the Fort Bend Regional Council on Substance Abuse, Inc.’s award, presented for a dozen years, honoring her generous community spirit and community achievements.
 
“Growing up and seeing my dad and his friends so involved in our community developed my personal desire to give back to the residents of Sugar Land,” Roy Jr. says. “My father’s and my shared goal was to always try to leave things better than before you got there.”
 
Roy currently sits on the board of the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, charged with the mission of researching, collecting, preserving, and communicating the history, culture, and values of the Sugar Land community, and to help guide the community toward its future. In turn, Roy has a wealth of information to share.
 
“I’m a second generation Sugar Land native. Mom was born in Sugar Land and Dad moved here in 1939 with his family,” Roy explains. “Other than the years I was in the Air Force and college, plus a short stint in Beaumont working my first job out of law school, I’ve lived my life in Sugar Land. My mom, who is 101 years old, still lives on Oyster Creek. I attended Lakeview Elementary, Sugar Land Junior High School, and Dulles High School.”
 
He spent his early professional years working for corporations before becoming a public servant. “I saw a lot of growth when I was on the City Council. In 1981, our population was only around 8,000 people. By 1990, the population had grown to almost 25,000 people,” he says. “The development of First Colony during the 1980s, a community that sits on land that was a part of the Stephen F. Austin and Williams land grants in the 1820s, contributed greatly to the increase.”
 
Back in the early 1900s, Sugar Land started as a company town. “The city started very small, with about 100 people,” Roy says. “When W.T. Eldridge and Ike Kempner took over Imperial Sugar, they developed Imperial into one of the first planned communities in the area. They brought housing, a medical clinic, schools, a hospital, and stores into the city. Imperial’s subsidiary, Sugar Land Industries, developed the neighborhoods of The Hill, Mayfield Park, and the homes along Brooks Street.”
 
Dr. Don “Doc” Hull and his wife, Jenny, founded Hull Field in 1953, which is now the Sugar Land Regional Airport. The original 3,200-foot asphalt runway at the Sugar Land Airport was built in 1963, and it was later replaced with an 8,000-foot reinforced concrete runway in 1985. “The airport has had a huge impact on the growth of the city,” Roy says. “It started as a grass runway before the asphalt was laid in 1963.” Today, the airport sees about 120 take-offs and landings every day.
 
“People from my generation had a DQ, one restaurant, and one theatre,” Roy laughs. “But today, Sugar Land is a diverse, cultural, and historic place to call home. It is a city with a lot to offer – job opportunities, a good family atmosphere. It’s a well-run city that’s maturing every year. Our current population is around 107,000 residents.”
 
Today’s Sugar Land offers master-planned communities with a small-town feel. It’s culturally progressive with several museums, like the Sugar Land Heritage Museum, Art Museum TX, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land. You get performing arts with the Smart Financial Centre and Crown Festival Park. It has restaurants and shopping to cater to the city’s diverse ethnicities and cultures, topped off with great schools and educational support businesses. It’s a place you can make an investment on a home – a place you’ll live for decades.
 
“Over time, as Sugar Land has grown, it’s embraced ethnic and cultural diversity. It’s one of the things that brings strength to our community,” Roy says. “The city has a good track record of growing positively and working with everyone, making it a great home with everything a resident could want in their community. It’s a phenomenal place to grow up.”
 
Cathy Stubbs Team
281-967-6149
cathystubbs.com