Texas Infrastructure & Energy Development | Data Center Sites | Utility Interconnection | Land Assembly
Texas Infrastructure & Energy Development | Data Center Sites | Utility Interconnection | Land Assembly
About Sam Houston Land Company
Our Mission
At Sam Houston Land Company, we specialize in power-anchored real assets and infrastructure development across Texas. With expertise in land assembly, utility interconnection, and complex entitlements, our team structures and capitalizes large-scale projects that require sophisticated grid planning and regulatory coordination.
We unlock value through strategic site selection, disciplined development execution, and deep relationships with power generators, utilities, and capital partners. From acquisition to final approvals, we deliver institutional-quality real assets positioned at the intersection of land, power, and infrastructure.
Our Team
At Sam Houston Land Company, our team is the driving force behind every successful project. We are a group of seasoned professionals with deep expertise in land development, infrastructure finance, power interconnection, and regulatory strategy. With backgrounds spanning real estate, engineering, public policy, and environmental planning, we bring a multidisciplinary approach to every challenge.
What Sets Us Apart
• Strategic Thinkers: We approach land development with precision, aligning entitlement strategies with long-term economic and infrastructure goals.
• Partnership Builders: Our relationships with municipalities, utilities, power generators, and private stakeholders allow us to navigate complex regulatory landscapes and accelerate project timelines.
• Execution Experts: From site selection to final approvals, we manage every phase with discipline and transparency.
Our leadership team combines decades of experience in large-scale infrastructure and power-anchored development, including:
• Grid interconnection and power infrastructure
• Public Improvement Districts (PIDs)
• Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs)
• Utility and transmission corridor development
• Alternative energy and gas power projects
We're not just developers—we're stewards of land, catalysts for growth, and partners in progress.
Our Services
We lead complex land development initiatives across Texas and beyond, with core competencies in:
• Data Center Development: Site selection, land assembly, utility interconnection, and entitlement for hyperscale and colocation facilities requiring high-capacity power (100+ MW), fiber connectivity, water infrastructure, and expedited permitting in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin metro areas.
• Power-Anchored Infrastructure: Structuring large-scale developments around grid interconnection with ERCOT, generation assets, transmission corridors, and utility coordination, enabling high-reliability industrial and commercial uses including battery storage, hydrogen production, and advanced manufacturing.
• Public Improvement Districts (PIDs): Structuring, managing, and financing PIDs to fund roads, water, sewer, drainage, and community infrastructure that enhance long-term property value and accelerate absorption in master-planned communities and commercial developments.
• Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs): Navigating municipal frameworks and developer agreements to unlock reinvestment potential, capture tax increment, and catalyze growth in targeted redevelopment zones across Texas cities.
• Land Entitlement & Regulatory Services: Securing zoning changes, special use permits, site plan approvals, and environmental permits through TCEQ, Texas Railroad Commission, county commissioners courts, and municipal planning departments to accelerate project timelines and reduce execution risk.
• Renewable Energy & Gas Power Projects: Developing utility-scale solar, wind, natural gas peaker plants, and combined-cycle facilities that meet evolving energy demands, including interconnection studies, offtake agreements, and site control strategies on greenfield and brownfield sites.
Our Capabilities
Learn more about our approach to power-anchored infrastructure development and how we deliver institutional-quality real assets in Texas.
Leadership
Colby Winzer | Executive Director
Colby Winzer drives organizational growth and transformation at Sam Houston Land Company, leading complex land development initiatives across Texas with a focus on energy-related real assets. With expertise in real estate, oil, gas, and closely held asset management, Colby specializes in acquiring investment-grade assets, conducting comprehensive due diligence, and managing client relationships to ensure strategic alignment with investment goals.
Colby's experience in energy-related real estate asset management includes renewable energy contract negotiations and mineral rights agreements, bringing deep knowledge of relationship management and contract negotiation to every transaction. Raised in a multigenerational farming family, Colby combines personal passion with professional precision to deliver client-centric solutions and empower long-term investment success.
Education: University of Mississippi, Master of Arts in Political Science
Insights
At Sam Houston Land Company, we track critical trends at the intersection of land, infrastructure, water, and energy. Here are recent perspectives from our team on the forces reshaping Texas real assets:
Population Growth is Reshaping Agriculture — and Water is the Limiting Factor
Where people move, water demand follows—and crop decisions are being forced to adapt. Agriculture is increasingly competing with municipalities and industry for finite water supplies, creating a structural shift in what gets planted, where it gets planted, and whether it pencils at all. Higher-water-use crops are being reevaluated, acreage is migrating, and long-term farm viability is now inseparable from groundwater rules, surface water availability, and regional demographics. This isn't just an agronomy issue—it's a land-use, infrastructure, and capital-allocation issue that will define rural economies for decades. Smart crop selection, water-efficient practices, and realistic regional planning will separate sustainable operations from stranded ones.
AI, Data Centers & Water: Planning for Sustainable Growth
As AI demand accelerates, so does the build-out of hyperscale data centers across the U.S. and around the world. These facilities can use tens of thousands to millions of gallons daily for cooling—comparable to the water needs of entire communities—and place pressure on aging and fragmented regional water systems. The conversation shouldn't be driven by clickbait or isolated site disputes, but by holistic regional planning. Private sector innovators, public water leaders, and economic development partners must coordinate proactively to balance economic opportunity with sustainable water infrastructure investment. AI infrastructure isn't just about electricity and compute power—it's also about stewardship of vital natural resources.