Memorial Park At 6501 Memorial Dr.

[wilcal]

Much better article/press release here: http://memorialparkconservancy.org/latest-news/97-memorial-park-accelerates-visionary-plan-with-70-million-gift-from-kinder-foundation.html

 

 

Quote

Kinder Foundation is offering a grant of $70 million to fast-track Memorial Park’s Master Plan, one of the nation’s largest and most visionary urban park restorations, led by Memorial Park Conservancy (MPC), Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD), and the Uptown Development Authority (UDA).

Today, a revised and restated Memorial Park Development Agreement was presented before the Quality of Life Committee of the City Council and is pending council approval. The planning partners outlined a private-public funding framework, built from Kinder Foundation’s lead gift, for developing a significant portion of the Master Plan within the next decade.  

“With the City Council’s approval, this historic gift will enhance a park that draws users from all over Houston, boosts the city’s entire park system and help make Houston more flood-resilient,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The Kinders’ past generosity to several signature Houston parks, along with this latest magnificent gesture, means their foundation is ever more a constant catalyst for health, recreation, community engagement, appreciation of nature, green space preservation and other quality-of-life factors that help make our city great. Let’s all applaud Kinder Foundation for its vision and commitment to making Memorial Park a treasured destination place for years to come.”

Kinder Foundation has been instrumental in Houston’s nationally recognized green space renaissance over the past ten years, gifting transformational grants that often serve as a catalyst for additional philanthropic and government funding, including Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, and Bayou Greenways 2020.  Kinder Foundation’s $70 million lead gift to Memorial Park – the largest single parks grant in Houston history – resulted from conversations over a two-year period and specifically supports connectivity to and within the Bayou City’s largest urban park, Memorial Park.  

“Memorial Park, one of the nation’s largest parks, is much-loved by Houstonians and requires ongoing maintenance,” states Rich Kinder, chairman, Kinder Foundation. “Our experience is that it takes a carefully designed public-private partnership to ensure that a park reaches its true potential.  The partnership the Kinder Foundation has conceived with the City sets the stage for a more vibrant Memorial Park.”

Designated to complete priority projects over the next 10 years, as well as provide long-term care of these capital improvements and the overall park, Kinder Foundation’s gift is slightly more than half of the $125 million in private sector funding to be raised by MPC.  Augmenting Kinder Foundation’s $70 million will be $15 million previously secured by MPC and $40 million in new donor commitments.  

Kinder Foundation’s lead gift also leverages the potential for $30 million in federal support, alongside UDA’s $50 million investment for infrastructure improvements.  With this restated agreement, HPARD will regain $600,000 in annual fees previously committed for green space maintenance and the Cullen Running Trails Center operations.

“We are thankful to the Kinder Foundation for their continuing support of parks throughout the city. The funds regained will be a catalyst for our ongoing Neighborhood Playground Initiative,” said Steve Wright, director, HPARD. 

A sustainable, resilient urban center

Memorial Park is unique on a local and national scale because of its central location and size; at 1,500 acres, Houston’s largest green asset inside the city, is almost double the size of New York’s Central Park.  Therefore, restoring, enhancing, and protecting the park’s natural environment, deployed through a science-based, data-driven method, serves as a nationwide model for urban forest and park renewal.  The Central Connector also includes significant acreage of native prairie restoration. By promoting the park’s healthy ecologies and habitants, Memorial Park can sustainably balance conservation with recreational opportunity.  Furthermore, subsequent ecological resiliency will help retain stormwater onsite and reduce erosion into Buffalo Bayou, while improved drainage will streamline emergency vehicle transit on Memorial Drive during major floods. 

A city connected through Memorial Park

Projects completed as a result of this public-private partnership will connect neighborhoods to neighborhoods through Memorial Park, as well as attach Memorial Park to the growing hike-and-bike networks across Houston. Hundreds of acres of parkland currently inaccessible will become accessible, and urban barriers that isolate and segregate the park will be replaced with bridges and access points.  An iconic central connector will be built over Memorial Drive.

Planned for national and international distinction, this unique nature bridge will connect the park’s north and south sides, providing safe crossing for all people and wildlife within a cohesive park experience of restored prairie and trails. Other additions include a trail/bridge system north over I-10, linking the White Oak Bayou Greenway trail system, and south over Buffalo Bayou; a 1.5-mile accessibility trail through the 600-acre wilderness on the south side; and other trails and crossings.    
Sarah Newbery, project director for Memorial Park with UDA says, “Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in reconnecting Memorial Park’s contiguous acreage, while providing safe and easy access.”

A park for all citizens

Today, Memorial Park serves 4 million users each year and draws residents from 170 zip codes across greater Houston.  Thousands of visitors use the park’s signature exercise trail daily, and countless others enjoy its highly regarded 18-hole public golf course, tennis, swimming, cycling, 30 miles of trails, bird watching, and fitness facilities.  Over the next decade, the 100-acre Eastern Glades project, already in progress, will add a large, quiet, and shady respite for picnicking, leisurely strolls, and other passive pastimes, and will feature a 5-acre lake and wetlands.  Other developments include Memorial Groves, a tribute site that will honor Memorial Park’s original use as one of only 16 National Guard training camps for WWI soldiers; a running complex, with a quarter-mile timing track and concessions; replaced and rebuilt ball fields; and ancillary parking, restrooms, and signage.        

“Our 10-year timeline reflects keen focus on connectivity to and through Memorial Park; resiliency through ecological renewal; and aesthetic and historic preservation, amid cultural and recreational amenities,” states Shellye Arnold, president and chief executive officer, MPC.  

Memorial Park’s Master Plan  

In 2012, amid collective concerns for Memorial Park’s increased traffic, lack of accessibility, and environmental decline, the City asked MPC to develop a long-range master plan for Memorial Park that became critical after Houston’s historic drought.  The nationally acclaimed landscape architectural firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz, led the Master Plan’s design, incorporating vast public and stakeholder input as well as expert consults from ecological, biological and conservation scientists.  Nelson Byrd Woltz achieves restoration, beautification and excellence through organic revitalization, indigenous design, integrity of historical intent, and stewardship of space – hallmarks desired for the park’s restoration – making them perfect partners to ensure Memorial Park’s sustainable future.  Ecological restoration underpins the Master Plan, an area in which the design firm has significant experience.

Thomas L. Woltz, Principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects stated, “This is a rare opportunity to set Memorial Park on a more resilient course – to ensure longevity for the thousands of people using it every day; to create a rich and varied ecosystem that will enhance the user experience; and to envision and articulate the critical balance between intense use and preservation.” 

The Master Plan was approved unanimously by Houston City Council in 2015.  The Kinder Foundation gift will accelerate the impact of pledges from the Houston philanthropic community including The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Foundation, The Fondren Foundation, Wendy and Jeff Hines, Houston Endowment, Inc., Christopher Knapp in honor of the David M. Underwood Sr. family, The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and other generous foundations and individuals.

The value of green space

In the nation’s fourth largest and most diverse population, Houston’s parks, greenways, and public spaces serve a vital role as common ground, where people from disparate backgrounds and socio-economic stations naturally traverse.  A growing national trend, ‘quality of green space’ has earned singular significance, with quality of life increasingly desired, and community health contingent on public space.  Parks and greenways improve mobility, connectivity, and economic vitality, while providing a bucolic refuge from the stresses of urban life.  As revealed in a City Parks Alliance 2018 video, “City Parks: Americas new Infrastructure,” activities in parks make people healthier; every dollar spent creating and maintaining trails offsets three dollars in healthcare expenses.  Parks serve neighborhoods as gathering hubs and provide recreation and social interaction that may otherwise not exist. 

Parks are for the people, so Houston’s extraordinary investment across philanthropic, government, and non-profit sectors improves quality of life in Houston for all walks of life. 

 

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, wilcal said:

Holy Shit.

 

Kinder Foundation donates $70 million to fast-track the largest projects of the master plan.

 

https://www.chron.com/local/article/Memorial-Park-restoration-gets-a-70-million-boost-12863707.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS Sharing Button&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twitter-desktop&utm_source=CMS Sharing Button&utm_medium=social

 

 

 

On their way to being Mr. and Mrs. Houston. Recently donated $150 million to the MFAH expansion, gave I think $50 million for the bayou parks, headed the committee on Discovery Green (I forget what money they gave for it), now this.

 

Lots of money in the pipeline business these days. The U.S. is producing more oil than it has since the 1960's and there isn't enough pipeline capacity to carry it all. Which means high rates. Good for Kinder, good for Houston.

 

Edited April 25, 2018 by H-Town Man

[gene]

Wowsa! So exciting! Living across from galleria, i have easy and fast access with my bike especially and ride through the park on a daily basis after work just for fun! Love that they are being so generous and cannot wait to see all these amazing changes and improvements to a park i already love! thanks for the info! 

[Triton]

Quote

Other additions include a trail/bridge system north over I-10, linking the White Oak Bayou Greenway trail system, and south over Buffalo Bayou; a 1.5-mile accessibility trail through the 600-acre wilderness on the south side; and other trails and crossings.    

 

Really curious how this is going to look. Sounds like a new bridge potentially over I-10? This is desperately needed... it's quite difficult biking from the Heights over to the park without having to share a lot of roads with traffic or taking a long route into downtown and back.

 

Edit: Ok cool... it appears to be H and J on this map. So they'll be going along the existing railroad tracks.

 

 

 

 

[htownbro]

Wow!  So Memorial Park is will be the premier park in the nation!  Exciting news!  

[wilcal]

23 hours ago, Triton said:

 

Really curious how this is going to look. Sounds like a new bridge potentially over I-10? This is desperately needed... it's quite difficult biking from the Heights over to the park without having to share a lot of roads with traffic or taking a long route into downtown and back.

 

Edit: Ok cool... it appears to be H and J on this map. So they'll be going along the existing railroad tracks.

 

 

 

Had a mini panic attack/sadness because the two softball fields in the middle where the land bridge are have disappeared on the rendering, but then I saw that they added two more in the north end of the park. 

 

I was so sad for a moment!

[Nole23]

Houston Open is proposed to be held in Memorial Park in 2019 for the first time since 1963. We will see if it happens.

 

"The Houston Open, the Bayou City's annual PGA Tour stop, is proposed to be held in Memorial Park in 2019, bringing the tournament back within city limits.

 

The tournament could relocate from the Golf Club of Houston, which is in Humble, to Memorial Park Golf Course next year, according to proposals that outline the plan obtained by the Houston Business Journal. The move comes after Mayor Sylvester Turner said in April 2017 he wanted to return the tournament to Houston.

 

Still, the Houston Open remains without a future date and title sponsor, valued at around $8 million to $12 million a year, after failing to find one for its recent tournament starting in late March.

 

"This move would place the tournament on centerstage in downtown Houston, creating a central location for the city to rally around," the proposal reads. "Houston Proud Partners of the Houston Open would have the opportunity to collaborate with the Houston Golf Association on this historic move and make a lasting statement that would be seen for generations."

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/04/26/exclusivehouston-open-to-be-held-in-memorial-park.html?ana=fbk

 

Edited April 26, 2018 by Nole23

[UtterlyUrban]

Not to be greedy, but, wouldn’t having  another land bridge over the road on the eastern end of the park make sense? 

Edited April 27, 2018 by UtterlyUrban

[Naviguessor]

Maybe since that area is the Glades, a mount wouldn't make sense.  But, some kind of overpass seem called for.  Maybe it's there, just not apparent. 

Edited June 26, 2018 by Naviguessor

[Twitter1]

Display at Highland Village!

Edit: I did not see The Post Oak in the reflection

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Twitter1

[jgriff]

16 hours ago, Twitter1 said:

Display at Highland Village!

Edit: I did not see The Post Oak in the reflection

 

That doesn’t look like highland village. Looks like you’re on Post Oak near Whole Foods.

[Highrise Tower]

Just drove by. What's on the project fence? Photos of everything the Kinders have done in regards to their donations? 

[gene]

Speaking of the fence...seems like it should be down any day now...any word on when the new extended 2.8 and soon to be 3 mile path is supposed to open? 

[j_cuevas713]

So they're building a pedestrian path from the Galleria to the park to connect the area?

[Luminare]

Just moved into town yesterday. While driving by I saw a bunch of areas with chain link and erosion fencing. Looks like they are working on the "Eastern Glades" portion of the park per the Master Plan. Looks like its happening!

[mollusk]

Welcome back, Lume.

 

Yes, this is going to be a pretty good reboot of the park, making it more resilient than the monoculture it was before (which really got clobbered by the really hot, dry summer a few years ago), as well as opening up some areas that were essentially inaccessible.

[UtterlyUrban]

Two decades from now memorial park and the connections to it (walk/bike paths from downtown/eado/med center, other bayou path access, and galleria) will define this city in a way in which it has never previously been defined.

 

the folks who will be responsible for this transformation will be Gen X and Gen Y.  Others may legitimately disagree with me but,  It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that these two generations (broadly speaking) are becoming, potentially, the most visionary American generations of the last 3.

[KinkaidAlum]

Was there really a need to pave four lanes off of Memorial Drive into the Glades? It looks like an entrance to a newly built park in some far-flung master planned community. 

[UtterlyUrban]

1 hour ago, KinkaidAlum said:

Was there really a need to pave four lanes off of Memorial Drive into the Glades? It looks like an entrance to a newly built park in some far-flung master planned community. 

I am assuming that it is for visual appeal on the graphic.  I didnt assume that it would be that wide.

 

[Highrise Tower]

Robert Clay — who leads Houston-based Clay Development & Construction Inc. — and his wife, Emily Clay, have committed $10 million to the Memorial Park Conservancy.

 

The gift will go toward the transformation of Memorial Park, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take more than a decade to complete.

 

The Clays pledged the gift on May 30, less than a month after the Houston City Council approved a new public-private funding model for the park's master plan project.

Memorial Park.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/07/09/houston-developer-wife-commit-10m-to-memorial-park.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-07-14&u=jSeE2P%2FRXYfPh4xmwVlkRLtnHXT&t=1531760913&j=82697601

[UtterlyUrban]

17 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Robert Clay — who leads Houston-based Clay Development & Construction Inc. — and his wife, Emily Clay, have committed $10 million to the Memorial Park Conservancy.

 

The gift will go toward the transformation of Memorial Park, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take more than a decade to complete.

 

The Clays pledged the gift on May 30, less than a month after the Houston City Council approved a new public-private funding model for the park's master plan project.

Memorial Park.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/07/09/houston-developer-wife-commit-10m-to-memorial-park.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-07-14&u=jSeE2P%2FRXYfPh4xmwVlkRLtnHXT&t=1531760913&j=82697601

Once again, the wealthy step up to make the city better for all of us.

 

well done, Mr. Clay.

 

 

[bobruss]

It makes a huge difference when those that have done especially well choose to be  philanthropic.

Houston is blessed with a very civic minded citizenry.

 

[Highrise Tower]

Finally went to look at the fence. It's a traveling photography exhibition. Here is apart of it.

 

 

 

 

[gene]

On 7/4/2018 at 0:06 PM, KinkaidAlum said:

Was there really a need to pave four lanes off of Memorial Drive into the Glades? It looks like an entrance to a newly built park in some far-flung master planned community. 

 

are you speaking of the portion just east of the 2.8 mile jogging trail? if so, that is the new expansion to turn it into a 3 mile jogging trail and they will close up the old road and that is where a small pond/lake will be and more...

[Jan]

Well, if you think cutting down Most of the healthy trees, driving off any birds and wildlife — and expanding golf course for pro players as basicslly a donation is ‘undoing damage’!  Scary and awful.  Silent spring. 

 

[Jan]

Maybe I’m wrong - sure hope so.  But not liking where memoriak Park is going at all. Not only original weird plan NOT to restore natural thickets and forests - that Ima Hogg revelled in sought to preserve by giving Houston the land.  But also corporate/ pga interests who are usurping and dominating its future now. Money isn’t the point at all— but no talk of revenue sharing either!  A fine property they call it 

 

 if you think cutting down Most of the healthy trees, driving off any birds and wildlife — and expanding golf course for pro players, basically as a donation is anything like ‘undoing damage’ you’re mistaken. We will get prarie and  Savannah  Golf courses to replace Nature - forests,thickets and bayous which stood undefended, (except for save Bayou folks).  Sad Scary and awful. Sorry I didn’t see it coming   Silent spring due to one ‘natural vision’ inadequately tempered by other evidence I would guess then apparently hijacked by PGA?  I know the Kinders are trying to do good but a forest should not be cultivated to a prarie 

 

[Houston19514]

15 hours ago, Jan said:

Well, if you think cutting down Most of the healthy trees, driving off any birds and wildlife — and expanding golf course for pro players as basicslly a donation is ‘undoing damage’!  Scary and awful.  Silent spring. 

 

 

What are you talking about?  I'm pretty sure there is no plan to cut down most of the healthy trees in Memorial Park.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Houston19514

[swtsig]

On 1/24/2019 at 5:01 PM, Jan said:

Maybe I’m wrong - sure hope so.  But not liking where memoriak Park is going at all. Not only original weird plan NOT to restore natural thickets and forests - that Ima Hogg revelled in sought to preserve by giving Houston the land.  But also corporate/ pga interests who are usurping and dominating its future now. Money isn’t the point at all— but no talk of revenue sharing either!  A fine property they call it 

 

 if you think cutting down Most of the healthy trees, driving off any birds and wildlife — and expanding golf course for pro players, basically as a donation is anything like ‘undoing damage’ you’re mistaken. We will get prarie and  Savannah  Golf courses to replace Nature - forests,thickets and bayous which stood undefended, (except for save Bayou folks).  Sad Scary and awful. Sorry I didn’t see it coming   Silent spring due to one ‘natural vision’ inadequately tempered by other evidence I would guess then apparently hijacked by PGA?  I know the Kinders are trying to do good but a forest should not be cultivated to a prarie 

 

 

keep up the good work, Jan!

[CaptainJilliams]

Wow, it's been a while since this thread has been bumped, but I had the chance today to go on a family walk at the park and it's clear big changes are taking place.

 

First off, I don't know if I'm just very unobservant or if things have been this way for a while now, but the entrance at East Memorial Loop (the Memorial Dr @ Memorial Loop Drive bus stop for reference) has become the main access road coming off Memorial Drive to get to the golf course/Becks Prime. There is a new parking area open along with a recently finished walking path and a small restroom facility. I really dig the design and landscaping they went with, it does a really good job immersing people in greenery. But my personal favorite part was how wide the new path was, it had to have been anywhere from 15-17 feet wide at certain points! It's probably been like this for months now, but the changes are very much welcome and I'm hoping they will be implemented throughout the entirety of the master plan. (Side note: you have to pay for parking in the new lot, but for $1 you get a 3 hour window of time)

 

Second, the previous entrance from Memorial Drive (where the sign for the golf course/Becks Prime is) has been closed off entirely, green fencing now engulfs this portion of the park. Signs indicate the Eastern Glades project is underway. There were also signs close to the new parking lot that indicated the sporting fields and facilities are going to be upgraded by 2020 sometime, a rendering of the changes found on the sign is below.

 

Finally, as we were leaving the park on Memorial Drive, I noticed about 500-1000 feet from the railroad bridge that crosses over Memorial a massive mound of earth and dirt had been moved, at least 20 feet high. I could be wrong on this, but given its location and the plans detailed in the previous renderings on this thread, I think this is the start of what will become one of those giant land bridges.

 

I really wish I had taken some pictures, I didn't realize the changes I missed since I had last been there. Exciting to finally see the beginnings of what could make a great park even greater. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by CaptainJilliams

[Luminare]

10 hours ago, CaptainJilliams said:

Wow, it's been a while since this thread has been bumped, but I had the chance today to go on a family walk at the park and it's clear big changes are taking place.

 

First off, I don't know if I'm just very unobservant or if things have been this way for a while now, but the entrance at East Memorial Loop (the Memorial Dr @ Memorial Loop Drive bus stop for reference) has become the main access road coming off Memorial Drive to get to the golf course/Becks Prime. There is a new parking area open along with a recently finished walking path and a small restroom facility. I really dig the design and landscaping they went with, it does a really good job immersing people in greenery. But my personal favorite part was how wide the new path was, it had to have been anywhere from 15-17 feet wide at certain points! It's probably been like this for months now, but the changes are very much welcome and I'm hoping they will be implemented throughout the entirety of the master plan. (Side note: you have to pay for parking in the new lot, but for $1 you get a 3 hour window of time)

 

Second, the previous entrance from Memorial Drive (where the sign for the golf course/Becks Prime is) has been closed off entirely, green fencing now engulfs this portion of the park. Signs indicate the Eastern Glades project is underway. There were also signs close to the new parking lot that indicated the sporting fields and facilities are going to be upgraded by 2020 sometime, a rendering of the changes found on the sign is below.

 

Finally, as we were leaving the park on Memorial Drive, I noticed about 500-1000 feet from the railroad bridge that crosses over Memorial a massive mound of earth and dirt had been moved, at least 20 feet high. I could be wrong on this, but given its location and the plans detailed in the previous renderings on this thread, I think this is the start of what will become one of those giant land bridges.

 

I really wish I had taken some pictures, I didn't realize the changes I missed since I had last been there. Exciting to finally see the beginnings of what could make a great park even greater. 

 

I'm thinking about doing a bunch of photography this weekend. I'll go and check it out.