Houston City College Katy – formerly known as Houston Community College Katy – is running out of space.

That was the clear message from HCC Northwest President Zachary Hodges at a steering committee meeting with community leaders at the campus at 22910 Colonial Parkway in Katy on September 2.

HCC’s enrollment across all its campuses is soaring – up more than 15 per cent in fall 2025 compared to fall 2024 -- and normally that is a good problem to have. But not so much for the Katy campus which now stands at 4,636 students for fall, up 7.76 per cent over the prior fall. The local campus, now across from Katy Asian Town, opened in June 2022 to replace the aging Foxlake facility near N. Fry Road and Park Row in Katy. The current campus was initially projected to serve only 5000 students by 2030, according to the school’s website. And it’s almost there, five years early.

To accommodate the growth, two additional buildings are needed, Hodges said, one for HCC and one for UH.

But there is a catch. In Katy, Houston Community College falls outside of the taxing district, which means that local residents do not pay into the taxing district and would have to vote to approve becoming a part of the taxing district which levies a tax per property valuation. It also means that the college system cannot use tax dollars or HCC system funds to build more buildings at the Katy campus. The current building was not built with tax dollars; instead, it was funded by a $55 million short-term finance loan from Regions Bank. Additionally the project has been supported by long-term revenue bonds, which Hodges said the HCC board is unwilling to do again. The Katy campus did not receive any funding to increase classroom space or improve laboratory facilities and continues to be funded by tuition and state reimbursement, the college’s website says.

HCC has asked the state legislature for help in funding additional facilities but did not receive its “ask” during the recently-completed legislative session, Hodges said.

That means that the campus has no alternative but to turn to the community for help in funding new construction – whether it is a partnership with an institution that receives naming rights for a new building or a local fund-raising initiative or use of state or federal funds, Hodges said. Hodges added that the HCC board wants to know how the community can help fund the expansion. HCC is already working with companies like Google, FoxConn and NVista to develop programs in high tech, engineering, AI and digital. Hodges said that the community needs to be creative in exploring the possibilities for new funding mechanisms. “What will this look like 25 years from now?” Hodges asked.

In the meantime, enrollment continues to rise in Katy, driven in part by a strong uptick in dual-credit enrollment at Katy ISD high school campuses. Here is a snapshot of that growth:

KISD Campus Fall 2024 Fall 2025 Increase


Katy High School 198 379 91.41


Taylor High School 290 425 46.55


Mayde Creek High School 192 313 63.02


Morton Ranch High School 230 392 70.43


Seven Lake High School 333 512 53.75


Tompkins High School 216 280 29.63


Raines High School 23 74 222%


Paetow High School 159 192 20.75


Jordan High School 377 509 35.01


Freeman High School 7 97 1286%


Cinco Ranch High School 406 489 20.44


Total KISD Dual Credit 2431 3662 51%


Dual enrollment is up in Katy ISD partly due to a shift in direction in KISD’s strategic plan as well as additional support for CTE programs, Sanee Bell, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at KISD, told the Katy Times at the meeting. The district is committed to finding pathways for all students, she said, not just those who are bound for college at a traditional four-year university.

Hodges also said that KISD students on free and reduced lunch can qualify for free tuition, which is also driving enrollment. He also credits innovative new programs at the school for drawing new students. HCC was the first college to offer an associate’s degree in artificial intelligence, and now offers a bachelor's degree in AI as well.

Kathleen Anzivino, Vice President for Instruction and Student Services at Houston City College, described two new degree programs rolling out this year in partnership with UH: a bachelor of science in technology leadership and innovation management and a bachelor of science in construction management. Anzivino also described the “career accelerator” program which enables students to complete a degree in three years. There are over 90,000 residents in the area who have some college but no degree and Anzivino said that this program “is designed to get them across the finish line.” She

said that the college is out looking for site for a new program it wants to add; although the school has a grant to fund three classes, there is just no more space at the school.

Jay Neal, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and COO of the University of Houston at Sugar Land and University of Houston at Katy, also gave an update on UH’s presence in Katy. UH is now the sole owner of the Katy campus, following the departure of the University of Houston-Victoria at Katy from the property. UH’s enrollment at the Katy campus is about 1000 students, Neal said, but his institution is running out of space as well.

However, UH is in a slightly better position; Neal said that the legislature granted their “legislative ask.” Some of those funds will be used to help bring classes from the UH Bauer School of Business to the Katy campus, he said. UH is also trying to bring health sciences to this side of town, utilizing small cohorts and expanding labs. Neal said that the university is working with a real estate firm to identify and use property near Greenhouse and Fry for a lab for the LVN to ADN program and to accommodate increased enrollment in the pharmacy tech program.