Editing Sugar Land, Texas (section)

===After 2000===
Sugar Land boasted the highest growth among Texas' largest cities, per the [[U.S. Census]] 2000, when it had a population of 63,328. In 2003, Sugar Land became a "principal" city, recognized in the metropolitan area's official title change to Houston–Sugar&nbsp;Land–Baytown, with Sugar Land replacing [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] as the second-most important city in the metropolitan area after Houston. The metro area is now officially referred to as the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area.

With its population increase, the city needed to attract [[higher education]] facilities. In 2002, the University of Houston System at Fort Bend moved to a new {{convert|250|acre|adj=on}} campus located off the University Boulevard and Interstate 69/U.S. 59 intersection. The city helped fund the Albert and Mamie George Building, and as a result, the multi-institution teaching center was renamed as the [[University of Houston Sugar Land]].

In 2003, the Imperial Sugar Company refinery plant and distribution center were closed, but the effect on the local economy was minimal. Sugar Land has become an affluent Houston suburb rather than the [[blue-collar]], [[agriculture]]-dependent town it was a generation ago. Many of its lower-income residents, including African American workers who at one time made up the majority working sugarcane, have been displaced and have had to seek work and housing elsewhere. The company maintains its headquarters in Sugar Land.

[[File:Telfair Entrance Sign.jpg|thumb|Entrance to Telfair master-planned community]]
The Texas Department of Transportation sold {{convert|2018|acre}} of prison land in the western portion of Sugar Land to Newland Communities, a developer, by bid in 2003. The developer announced plans to build a new master-planned community called [[Telfair, Sugar Land|Telfair]] in this location. In July 2004, Sugar Land annexed all of this land into the city limits to control the quality of development, extending the city limits westward. This was unusual, since Sugar Land had earlier annexed only built-out areas, not lands prior to development.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}

In December 2005, Sugar Land annexed the recently built-out, master-planned community of Avalon and four sections of Brazos Landing subdivision, adding about 3,200 residents. The city eventually annexed the communities of River Park, [[Greatwood, Texas|Greatwood]], and [[New Territory, Texas|New Territory]], with the latter two being annexed on December 12, 2017, bringing the city proper's population to 117,869.

In the 2010s, development began on the Imperial master-planned community, located in undeveloped territory east of Sugar Land Regional Airport and incorporating the former refinery property of Imperial Sugar Company. This development includes [[Constellation Field]], home of the [[Sugar Land Space Cowboys]], originally an independent baseball team but later a member of affiliated [[Minor League Baseball]]. Retail needs are to be served in the planned Imperial Market development. In 2017, the 6,400-seat [[Smart Financial Centre]] concert hall opened.