Buffalo Bayou Master Plan

[hindesky 53311]

Didn't feel like venturing closer this time so I zoomed in. They have removed part of the concrete beam blocking the future trail.

[hindesky 53311]

I rode under the northern Buffalo Bayou Hike/Bike trail under Waugh St. today and saw lots of dead bats killed by the freezing temperatures last week. I saw a FB post about it but wasn't thinking about when I was riding. There had to be hundreds of them laying on the ground. Didn't want to take a pic. The southern side of the trail was blocked off from anyone accessing it. So people had to cross the intersection on top across Waugh.

https://www.houstoniamag.com/travel-and-outdoors/2021/02/waugh-bridge-bat-colony-winter-storm-2021

 

The Waugh Bridge Bat Colony Took a Hit During the Winter Storm

Reports of dead and distressed bats rolled in over the weekend at Buffalo Bayou Park.

By Gwendolyn Knapp  2/22/2021 at 11:34am

 

The Waugh Bridge bat colony is a Houston icon.

 

BAD NEWS FOR BAT LOVERS. On Sunday Buffalo Bayou Partnership took to its social accounts, asking folks to avoid the walking paths under the Waugh Bridge. The issue? It appears that our poor Mexican free-tailed bat colony, which endured the floodwaters of Harvey in 2017, has now been hit hard by the winter storm.  

A rep from the partnership tells Houstonia that reports started coming in of both dead bats on the ground, and bats that were still alive and in distress, on Saturday, as folks returned to the park.  The rep did not know how many bats were involved, and we still don’t have any details about exactly what happened—if they froze to death inside the bridge or while trying to take flight or if anything else is at play (bats can carry rabies, so please stay away, folks).

Before Harvey, there were an estimated 300,000 bats in the Waugh Bridge colony, but as we sadly know, many perished as Harvey’s floodwaters rose up into the bridge, and then many more were likely displaced since bats don’t like to live among the dead. The bats in the Waugh colony reside in the bridge about seven layers deep, and, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, still have a population about 250,000 deep, fluctuating through out the year as the species is somewhat migratory.

As of Monday morning, TPWD has sent its bat team coordinator and wildlife biologist, Diana Foss, to assess the situation, which may involve taking distressed, living bats with her to investigate the matter. The partnership also tells us that more environmentalists are currently investigating the situation as well. It’s unknown if Austin’s bat population is dealing with the same issue.  

Earlier this month, the Chronicle reported that many of Texas’s bats have faced a greater risk of death recently due to the rampant spread of white-nose syndrome across our state, a disease that causes bats’ fat stores to run out quicker than normal, sending them out into the cold weather to feed rather than hibernate. But Mexican free-tailed bats do not hibernate like other species in Texas, so it’s uncertain if the disease is actually impacting them like other species.   

We’ll update on any information regarding the situation when we get it. For now, avoid the paths under the Waugh Bridge, and send some love to our favorite bat colony. Please hang in there, little fellas!

 

 

[gene 3275]

omg noooOooOoooooOOOOOoooo that is just horrible! i hope that the bats will be okay...i love that so many call Houston home (although i do have to hold my breath every time i ride my bike under the Waugh bridge haha!)

[clutchcity94 465]

3 hours ago, gene said:

omg noooOooOoooooOOOOOoooo that is just horrible! i hope that the bats will be okay...i love that so many call Houston home (although i do have to hold my breath every time i ride my bike under the Waugh bridge haha!)

I do too!! And usually close my eyes for good measure! Look ma...no hands !!

[hindesky 53311]

[hindesky 53311]

Looks like they are pouring concrete for the sidewalk/wall.

[HoustonMidtown 4685]

 

[Urbannizer 45392]

https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/2021/03/18/giving-buffalo-bayou-back-east-end-affordable-housing

Groundbreaking for the first phase of Lockwood South, the Partnership’s new apartments in the Second Ward, is scheduled for June. Right now, the 18 acres on the southern shore of the bayou are imminently forgettable — filled with untamed brush and excavation dirt. But Ian Rosenberg, project manager, says the area soon will be transformed by 80, one-, two- and three- bedroom units, landscaping, access to parks, hike and bike trails and the bayou itself. The work will be done in partnership with Brinshore, a Chicago-based development company. 

Construction on that first phase is expected to cost $25 million and take 18 months. Housing in future phases will add another 270 mixed-income units, including some single-family homes.

 

[77011transplant 160]

I, for one, am hyped for this project. Especially if it means they'll clean up the overpass on Lockwood and clear the sidewalks that connect to the trail. 

[thedistrict84 845]

19 hours ago, 77011transplant said:

I, for one, am hyped for this project. Especially if it means they'll clean up the overpass on Lockwood and clear the sidewalks that connect to the trail. 

I’m also looking forward to this stretch of trail being reworked and transformed. It also seems to have a good mix of housing, which should be the goal for most new developments.

[Montrose1100 3966]

What's the plan for the slope?

[samagon 3517]

2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

What's the plan for the slope?

hopefully they hand out cardboard boxes for people to slide down the hill once there is some grass in place.

[Montrose1100 3966]

38 minutes ago, samagon said:

hopefully they hand out cardboard boxes for people to slide down the hill once there is some grass in place.

There was really an opportunity to create an entrance to the bayou and walkway, even minimalistic like this with some simple landscaping.

 

 

[samagon 3517]

1 hour ago, Montrose1100 said:

There was really an opportunity to create an entrance to the bayou and walkway, even minimalistic like this with some simple landscaping.

 

 

what better gateway than this?

[august948 1484]

1 hour ago, samagon said:

what better gateway than this?

 

Would have been awesome last month...

 

[HoustonBoy 267]

7 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

There was really an opportunity to create an entrance to the bayou and walkway, even minimalistic like this with some simple landscaping.

 

 

This would be PERFECT. It's the exact slope and everything 

[august948 1484]

21 hours ago, HoustonBoy said:

This would be PERFECT. It's the exact slope and everything 

Think of it as a future opportunity.

[Urbannizer 45392]

https://www.brinshore.com/featured/lockwood-south
 

 

[hindesky 53311]

Found the mural artist shutting down for the day since it had started raining. They are doing a mural on the north bank by UHD. The grass on the south bank is starting to grow.

[hindesky 53311]

A baby shower/reveal? Name says Stephen so I wonder why both color balloons. From Eleanor Tinsley Park.

[77011transplant 160]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

A baby shower/reveal? Name says Stephen so I wonder why both color balloons. From Eleanor Tinsley Park.

I think it says "Stephens" as in "Baby their-last-name"? 

[hindesky 53311]

36 minutes ago, 77011transplant said:

I think it says "Stephens" as in "Baby their-last-name"? 

Your'e probably right I didn't see the "s" till I looked closer.

[mattyt36 473]

13 hours ago, hindesky said:

A baby shower/reveal? Name says Stephen so I wonder why both color balloons. From Eleanor Tinsley Park.

Hopefully they didn’t kill anybody.

[hindesky 53311]

26 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

Hopefully they didn’t kill anybody.

Didn't hang around for the reveal, but I was hoping they didn't release those giant balloons.

[Ross 1617]

On 3/25/2021 at 2:40 PM, samagon said:

hopefully they hand out cardboard boxes for people to slide down the hill once there is some grass in place.

Only if at random times, another ramp pops up and sends the slider into the Bayou. A little risk makes life more fun, right? Even better if a fake alligator pops up its head as the person is in the air.

[samagon 3517]

23 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Hopefully they didn’t kill anybody.

I presume from the lack of news coverage that they didn't burn down the park.

[Urbannizer 45392]

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c48a167c25b34b91aab2aedd56636624?cover=false

Lockwood South, Lockwood North listed as well.

[hindesky 53311]

[hindesky 53311]

Crawler crane has been driving piling sheets into the ground in downtown portion of the Buffalo Bayou trail. This is near the north end of Austin St. They are in the process of welding a steel supported trail under the old building since the ground below is slanted so much.

[hindesky 53311]

North bank bike trail next to the McKee project.

[77011transplant 160]

That mural is so beautiful! Thanks for the pics. 

[Naviguessor 2346]

Further east, work continues on sculpting and fortifying the south bank as well as repairing and replacing the trails.  This photo was taken from the north bank at the East River, Bldg F site.  

[Urbannizer 45392]

Anyone have access? 

https://www.costar.com/article/1085605325/new-mixed-income-housing-project-to-kick-off-transformation-of-buffalo-bayou-east

[H-Town Man 5237]

On 4/22/2021 at 3:06 AM, Urbannizer said:

Anyone have access? 

https://www.costar.com/article/1085605325/new-mixed-income-housing-project-to-kick-off-transformation-of-buffalo-bayou-east

Highlights:

Nonprofit Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Brinshore Development are planning the first phase of what is to be a 350-unit residential community in the city's East End off of Lockwood Drive near Tony Marron Park.

The project, called Lockwood South, would include a mix of multifamily and single-family homes with market-rate and some affordably priced units as well as senior housing. Groundbreaking on the 80-unit first phase is slated for the third quarter, with completion at the end of 2022.

Since revealing its master plan in late 2019, the nonprofit group has been busy planning several projects and raising funds for development, including designing improvements for Japhet Creek, Turkey Bend and Tony Marron Park and starting work on the residential portion of Lockwood South.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Brinshore Development received a green light from the city of Houston’s planning commission April 15 on a variance request needed to move forward with the first phase of Lockwood South, which includes building 80 residential units. About 10% to 15% of those units could be market-rate apartments, Rosenberg said, but it depends on funding rules.

Surrounding the residential project, Buffalo Bayou Partnership is adding 9 acres of green space and expanding Tony Marron Park to 43 acres — putting the park just 600 feet away from Lockwood South residences, Rosenberg said. Those expanded parks are expected to be open with phase one of the residential units in December 2022. The second phase of the project, with additional residences and senior living, could open six to 12 months later, he added, so sometime in 2023 or thereafter.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership has also earmarked a section of the project for a small mixed-use commercial site such as a clinic or co-op grocery store, Rosenberg said. The partnership is constructing a new street to connect Lockwood Drive to Drenner Street.

Elsewhere in the East End, the Houston City Council on April 13 approved a 400-unit affordable housing project at 800 Middle St. near the bayou, the Houston Chronicle reported. The project, a partnership between the city and NRP Group, would replace Clayton Homes, a housing complex the Texas Department of Transportation plans to demolish to make way for its expansion of Interstate 45. Eventually the city, in partnership with NRP Group, envisions having market-rate apartments on-site for a total of 900 units, according to media reports.

[H-Town Man 5237]

Has BBP ever said anything about trying to do something with the few remaining wharf buildings around the Turning Basin? The ones on the right bank along Peavey Drive and Foster Street were all demolished over the past 20 years or so but there are still a few remaining on the left bank. I imagine this is insanely expensive land though since it is on the ship channel.

 

[Houston19514 5053]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

Has BBP ever said anything about trying to do something with the few remaining wharf buildings around the Turning Basin? The ones on the right bank along Peavey Drive and Foster Street were all demolished over the past 20 years or so but there are still a few remaining on the left bank. I imagine this is insanely expensive land though since it is on the ship channel.

 

Seems unlikely.  BBP's master plan does not appear to go that far east and that is probably all pretty active Port of Houston property.

Edited April 23 by Houston19514

[H-Town Man 5237]

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

Seems unlikely.  BBP's master plan does not appear to go that far east and that is probably all pretty active Port of Houston property.

It is just east of where their plan ends... and the historical value of those buildings is pretty considerable, as that is the only place where the Port of Houston resembled something of a traditional port post-ship channel. Those buildings and the bars for the workers along 75th Street (all demolished) figured into Sig Byrd's writings about "port characters."

But you are right that it is pretty active Port of Houston property.

 

[Montrose1100 3966]

It's very active POH property. Those docks make great layberths for Chemical Tankers. :P

[hindesky 53311]

[BuffaloBayouBred 115]

East River section of trail.

[hindesky 53311]

[hindesky 53311]

The future trail is not at the bottom but just above it. The other side is starting to take shape.