On the Market

Is Tiger Woods moving to Sugar Land? An $11-million golf course home awaits achampion

A modern Texas contemporary, 21 Grand Manor in Sugar Land, on sale for a mere$11 million

Editor's Note: Houston is loaded with must-have houses for sale in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Throughout the month of June, CultureMap editor-at-large Shelby Hodge snoops through some of our faves and gives you the low-down on what's hot on the market.

21 Grand Manor, Sugar Land

Just in time for last weekend's U.S. Open in Pebble Beach, the national Top Ten Real Estate Deals website posted what editors considered the "most luxurious golf homes" for sale in the country and Number One on that list was a behemoth in Sugar Land priced at a mere $11 million. Just the sort of place a Tiger Woods hottie would like to call home.

And, hey, so would the CultureMap team.

Special touches: Surely you've always dreamed of a living room surrounded by a moat. That's just one of the unusual design features in this Mediterranean-style estate secluded in one of Sweetwater's luxury enclaves.

Imagine welcoming your friends into the three-story rotunda where a free-form sculpture is suspended from an overhead dome. The so-called "living island" is surrounded by mosaic tile walls, includes a copper mesh water wall and opens via glass doors to views of two swimming pools and the golf course fairway beyond.

The 411: You can take your pick from five bedrooms, but our choice is the master suite complete with fireplace, morning bar, fully-equipped gym, Roma steam shower in the over-sized bath, a secluded Zen-like courtyard and a private reading room on the second floor that is accessed via spiral stairway.

The vast expanse of house includes a two-story library with attached office, an Art Nouveau-style theater, a two-story disco with dance floor, sunken bar, wine cellar, a lobby lounge with a "lighted night sky" and concession stand, a soundproof recording room and a caterer's kitchen. Moving outdoors, you'll find the staff quarters.

For more fun, there is also a summer kitchen, pool house, outdoor pavilions with swim-up bar, fireplace and loggia. Don't forget the six air-conditioned garage bays.

The golf course: The house overlooks the fairways of Cypress Course at Sweetwater Country Club.

Square footage: 18,000

Architect: Mark Bufalini, who also did the interiors.

Listing agent: Stephanie Nick, Capital City Sotheby's International Realty

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a sweeter future

City of Sugar Land acquires historic 'Char House' for new development

Photo provided by City of Sugar Land

The Char House is one of the most iconic buildings in Southwest Houston

The Imperial Sugar refinery complex has been gently rotting in the heart of Sugar Land, but a formal purchase of the land and building by the city government promises a chance at new life for the historic building.

Built around 1869, the complex was once a state-of-the-art facility that refined sugar and produced molasses. The City of Sugar Land was named for the company, and the company's crown logo is part of the city's official seal. Thousands of workers manned the lines while Houston schoolchildren toured the floor of the factory until it shut its doors in 2002. Now, the only sugar in Sugar Land is found on grocery store shelves, where the Imperial brand is still sold today.

The City of Sugar Land announced on Wednesday that it had finally completed the official purchase of the 40 acres that the refinery stands on, the first time the city has owned it. Previous plans to develop the property haven't come together.

“Redeveloping the Imperial Historic District has been a longstanding priority for both the City Council and our residents,” Mayor Carol McCutcheon said in a statement. “We’re proud to now be in the driver’s seat — ready to preserve our namesake and create the kind of destination the Sugar Land community deserves. With this project, we hope to create a place that past and future generations are proud of for many years to come.”

The $50 million land purchase and renovation plan includes the iconic Char House. The tall, red brick building looms over Sugar Land and is an iconic structure in Fort Bend County. The name comes from the charring process of adding burnt and powdered animal bones to the refining process. The building, completed in 1925, had to be tall as using gravity to filter the liquid sugar as it left the storage tanks on the eighth floor to the bottom.

The City of Sugar Land is in the process of seeking a private development partner to repurpose and renovate the land and buildings. That process should be completed by first quarter of 2026. In the meantime, the sale will be finalized over the coming months, and the city will begin the process of maintenance to prevent further deterioration. Though it is still some ways in the future, it's possible generations of school children will once again have a chance to visit the industrial genesis of Sugar Land.

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