Bank of America is under construction in NewQuest Properties’ Grand Morton Town Center as it forges ahead on plans to expand in the fastest-growing submarket of west Houston. The 4,160-square-foot banking center, featuring two drive-through lanes, will deliver in May. Bank of America will be the third financial institution to plant a flag in Grand Morton Town Center, a 90-acre regional power center fronting the Grand Parkway/TX 99 in Katy. “With more than 500,000 square feet of tenants, Grand Morton’s momentum benefits greatly by having three major banks on site for the convenience of customers,” said Josh Friedlander, vice president of Houston-based NewQuest Properties. “Our next focus will be to add more quality full-service restaurants.” Bank of America is developing a 1.29-acre freeway-fronting pad site located south of Chase Bank on the project’s southeastern side and directly across from Regions Bank on the northeastern corner. Elizabeth Clampitt and Ashley Shagets of JLL represented BoA in ground-lease talks. “This is a regional power center that provides a strong mix of neighborhood services with multiple choices in each category,” said Friedlander, who teams with Rebecca Le, a NewQuest senior vice president, to lease Grand Morton. “It’s a sustainable strategy for meeting demand in an area fueled by continued high growth.” The NewQuest team also recently signed Smoothie King to 1,420 square feet of inline space and Goodwill Industries Inc. to 1,700 square feet for a drop station. Talks are underway with a Mexican restaurant and national ice cream shop. NewQuest has six pad sites remaining in the town center – four fronting Grand Parkway; one along Morton Ranch Road; and one on the project’s interior. “We had good momentum last year and it’s carrying forward this year,” Friedlander said. NewQuest brought nearly 100,000 square feet of class A space online in 2020. Joining the retail lineup were junior anchors Petco, Michaels and HomeGoods. The Kelsey-Seybold Morton Ranch Clinic, a two-story, 36,500-square feet medical office project, also was completed last year. “Despite COVID, NewQuest has had good activity on the few remaining inline spaces and pad sites,” Friedlander said. “And, we have the ability to build more.”