Buffalo Bayou Master Plan

[77011transplant]

Updates on the East End development and its timeline:

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Buffalo-Bayou-10-million-endowment-gift-houston-tx-15785475.php#photo-20362750

[H-Town Man]

11 minutes ago, 77011transplant said:

Updates on the East End development and its timeline:

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Buffalo-Bayou-10-million-endowment-gift-houston-tx-15785475.php#photo-20362750

 

Can you give us the highlights? Not a subscriber.

 

[EastEndHeritage]

22 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Can you give us the highlights? Not a subscriber.

 

10 million grant to accelerate 3 BBP projects. Potentially taking shape within 2-3 years.

-Tony Marron Park

-Japhet Creek

-a wharf at Turkey Bend

 

BBP will launch a capital campaign next year to raise additional funds to turn these projects into "signature destinations". The grant also includes money for bayou bank stabilization and trail repairs along the bayou.

 

Tony Marron Park will grown from 19 to 40 acres after BBP acquired some additional land.

 

BBP expects the east side development to cost $300M and take shape over 20 years. $17M has been raised so far, including the new $10M.

Edited December 9, 2020 by EastEndHeritage
additional details

[Naviguessor]

^^
The Houston Endowment has awarded a $10 million grant to help launch the Tony Moran Park, Japhet Creek and Turkey Bend Wharf projects along BBP’s eastern sector plan. The money also will go towards stabilizing the banks on the bayou to preserve trail connections and prevent further erosion (I can hear the pile drivers as I type).  There is design work on going for the Park(Van Valkenburgh) , the Creek (Asakura Robinson) and The Wharf, which the grant is likely to spite further investment/grant interest in.  Final design proposals for these projects are expected next summer. 

[Triton]

Does that mean someone is finally going to repair the section near Commerce? It's embarrassing to bring out of towners down there and after 4 years it's still collapsed. 

[j_cuevas713]

That wharf is so damn cool. It's going to allow people to see the port side of our city. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by j_cuevas713

[hindesky]

What’s next for Buffalo Bayou? $10 million grant accelerates master plan's 3 key projects

Molly Glentzer Dec. 9, 2020 Updated: Dec. 9, 2020 10:49 a.m.

 

On sunny days this time of year, the charms of Tony Marron Park are many: Plentiful green space and trees, a playground, a path along the bayou with a view toward downtown. With or without a pandemic, neighborhood havens like this are important to the health and well-being of those who live nearby, maybe within walking or biking distance.

But Tony Marron Park does not have nearly the bells and whistles of green spaces in more affluent parts of the city, such as Buffalo Bayou Park and Memorial Park’s new Eastern Glades. Yet.

Change is coming. Maybe even within two or three years. Houston Endowment announced this week that it has awarded a $10 million grant to the Buffalo Bayou Partnership to accelerate three key projects of a master plan for the bayou’s east sector that will spread the green space wealth.

 

While the master plan is only about a year old, the ideas behind it have been the stuff of dreams for at least a decade. The gift is a catalyst “to give people confidence that this is going to get done, and get done soon,” says Houston Endowment president and CEO Ann Stern.

 

It’s also a prelude to a capital campaign — likely launching next year — that will transform Tony Marron Park, Japhet Creek and a wharf at Turkey Bend into signature destinations. Three design teams are already on the job, creating more specific blueprints, so other potential donors can see more precisely what their millions will support.

“You need planning money on the front end, and sometimes those dollars are the hardest to get,” Stern says. “We think we will see a lot of the other funding come rather quickly.”

Also by Molly Glentzer: What’s in the Buffalo Bayou East master plan

 

Chosen by a selection committee of Partnership board members and stakeholders, most of the signature project designers already have an impressive track record of work at other Houston parks.

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates is collaborating with Houston’s Natalye Appel Architects on the redesign of the city-owned Tony Marron Park, aiming to create a more vibrant central green space and recreational anchor for the East End and Second Ward. With adjacent land acquired by the Partnership, the park will grow from 19 to about 40 acres.

Asakura Robinson is designing a nature trail along Japhet Creek, a nearly-disappeared tributary just across the bayou from Tony Marron Park. That project will connect Fifth Ward residents to the waterfront. Reed Hilderbrand and Boston’s NADAA (intentionally selected as a new player) are designing a new concert and event venue at Turkey Bend that will repurpose docks and a warehouse.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership president and CEO Anne Olson expects to see completed designs from each team by next summer.

 

The big gift also provides monies to stabilize bayou banks and repair existing trail links, acquire more land, begin phase 1 site improvements at Japhet Creek and add a community engagement manager to the Partnership’s staff.

 

Those things are just as important as designing destinations, Olson says. “The great thing is that this part of the bayou doesn’t flood, but the banks are really steep, and there was a lot of erosion during Hurricane Harvey. And the price of land has escalated so much since we began. Once we identify a target it is usually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Buffalo-Bayou-10-million-endowment-gift-houston-tx-15785475.php

[Moore713]

Let's be Honest , Houston not a looker...it doesn't have alot of natural beauty...so we have to focus on enhancing and protecting the little it does.

[hindesky]

https://www.houstoniamag.com/travel-and-outdoors/2020/12/buffalo-bayou-east-sector-10-million-grant-2020

 

IT’S GOING TO BE A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON FOR BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP. The nonprofit organization, which conceptualized and maintains the landmark Buffalo Bayou Park, has just received a $10 million grant from the Houston Endowment to help bring its next big act, the Buffalo Bayou East Sector, to life. 

The highly-anticipated East Sector is one of the biggest park projects in the United States, and once completed, it is expected to transform the waterfront and green spaces of Fifth and Second wards and the surrounding neighborhoods over the next 20 years. The BBP’s master plan calls for the construction of 40 miles of hike and bike trails; 200 acres of new and refreshed park space; seven boat launches; seven new pedestrian bridges; and day trip-worthy recreational and cultural destinations, including industrial relics repurposed into gardens, adventure parks, event spaces, and perhaps even a swimming hole in Tony Marron Park. The plan is to also create bikeways and “green fingers” that will connect the neighborhoods to each other, as well as back downtown and Buffalo Bayou Park. (There will sadly not be one long contiguous waterfront trail à la Buffalo Bayou Park, but, on the plus side, there could be a water taxi). 

 

“The grant from Houston Endowment is another exciting step forward in the creation of a more equitable city for all Houstonians,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement issued after the grant was announced. “We are grateful to both Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston Endowment not only for their inclusive vision of a better Houston, but their commitment to making it a reality.”

While the East Sector project will ultimately require hundreds of millions of dollars to fully implement over the next two decades, the $10 million grant will help fund several key efforts right away, including:

• Designing key destinations centered around Fifth Ward, Second Ward, and Magnolia Park in the Greater East End.
• Beginning of infrastructure work to stabilize the bayou banks as well as repair existing trail links in the area.
• Land acquisition efforts for future parks and trail connections.
• Phase 1 site improvements at Japhet Creek to include trails, interpretive signage, site furnishings, and landscaping.
• Expand BBP’s organizational capacity, including hiring a full-time Community Engagement Manager.

[H-Town Man]

Thanks Jesse.

 

[Moore713]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

https://www.houstoniamag.com/travel-and-outdoors/2020/12/buffalo-bayou-east-sector-10-million-grant-2020

 

IT’S GOING TO BE A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON FOR BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP. The nonprofit organization, which conceptualized and maintains the landmark Buffalo Bayou Park, has just received a $10 million grant from the Houston Endowment to help bring its next big act, the Buffalo Bayou East Sector, to life. 

The highly-anticipated East Sector is one of the biggest park projects in the United States, and once completed, it is expected to transform the waterfront and green spaces of Fifth and Second wards and the surrounding neighborhoods over the next 20 years. The BBP’s master plan calls for the construction of 40 miles of hike and bike trails; 200 acres of new and refreshed park space; seven boat launches; seven new pedestrian bridges; and day trip-worthy recreational and cultural destinations, including industrial relics repurposed into gardens, adventure parks, event spaces, and perhaps even a swimming hole in Tony Marron Park. The plan is to also create bikeways and “green fingers” that will connect the neighborhoods to each other, as well as back downtown and Buffalo Bayou Park. (There will sadly not be one long contiguous waterfront trail à la Buffalo Bayou Park, but, on the plus side, there could be a water taxi). 

 

“The grant from Houston Endowment is another exciting step forward in the creation of a more equitable city for all Houstonians,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement issued after the grant was announced. “We are grateful to both Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston Endowment not only for their inclusive vision of a better Houston, but their commitment to making it a reality.”

While the East Sector project will ultimately require hundreds of millions of dollars to fully implement over the next two decades, the $10 million grant will help fund several key efforts right away, including:

• Designing key destinations centered around Fifth Ward, Second Ward, and Magnolia Park in the Greater East End.
• Beginning of infrastructure work to stabilize the bayou banks as well as repair existing trail links in the area.
• Land acquisition efforts for future parks and trail connections.
• Phase 1 site improvements at Japhet Creek to include trails, interpretive signage, site furnishings, and landscaping.
• Expand BBP’s organizational capacity, including hiring a full-time Community Engagement Manager.

Suck it Dallas Trinity River ...which ended up just being a bridge over a ditch!!  Just kidding 

[pablog]

Houston is a looker in my eyes 😍

[Texasota]

yeah i'm not ok with the "Houston is not a looker" mentality. 

[MexAmerican_Moose]

same here, the city is very green, the strip developments ruin it....

Edited December 10, 2020 by MexAmerican_Moose

[Moore713]

21 minutes ago, MexAmerican_Moose said:

same here, the city is very green, the strip developments ruin it....

Exactly!! It has it spots , but so many poor development decisions in the past  damaged it .... Now we are working backwards to reverse the damages.

[Triton]

Drove down McKee St over Buffalo Bayou today. They're building some structure which is already on its 2nd floor... it's on the north bank next to McKee.. anyone know what that is?

[HoustonBoy]

I love Houston's greenery and our urban landscape. There are very few cities in the US that legitimately have four full-scale skylines. 

[JBTX]

29 minutes ago, Triton said:

Drove down McKee St over Buffalo Bayou today. They're building some structure which is already on its 2nd floor... it's on the north bank next to McKee.. anyone know what that is?

McKee City Living perhaps?
 

 

[Triton]

1 hour ago, JBTX said:

McKee City Living perhaps?
 

 

That'a definitely it. Very cool, thanks.

[H-Town Man]

20 hours ago, hindesky said:

(There will sadly not be one long contiguous waterfront trail à la Buffalo Bayou Park, but, on the plus side, there could be a water taxi). 

 

Ummm... didn't know that. 😞 Does anyone know where the gap(s) will be?

 

[hindesky]

[ljchou]

11 hours ago, hindesky said:

/that three way bridge!!!

[Houston19514]

I'm not detecting a gap in the waterfront trails in that rendering.

Of course, one should not take the writings of a Houston journalist too seriously.  Apparently the Houston stylebook requires something negative to be included in a story, even if it's made up.  After taking a look at the East Sector master plan, yes, there is a gap of about 7/10ths of one mile on one side of the bayou. There are bridges planned on both ends of that gap, plus bike lanes on nearby streets to get around the industrial property that requires the gap.  

Where did the Houstonia writer get the idea that "There will sadly not be one long contiguous waterfront trail à la Buffalo Bayou Park".? That is plainly false.  (Plus, it's significantly longer than Buffalo Bayou Park,  so there will actually be a far longer contiguous waterfront trail than in Buffalo Bayou Park.)

 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Houston19514

[hindesky]

[ArtNsf]

On 12/9/2020 at 11:40 PM, pablog said:

Houston is a looker in my eyes 😍

 

Yes, and thank you pablog !  Perspective has a lot to do with the feeling Houstonians and the popular media has about this area.  Most of it has been very unfair and false over the decades.  But, perhaps, we are finally breaking through all the negative propaganda (I won't mention which cities and areas in the country are the most guilty of that.  We can all guess pretty accurately anyway.)  There really is so much natural beauty - both "flat and contoured" that surrounds this mega multi-county area of the U.S. and Houston.  The Bayous (which a few are actually really rivers - I vote to rename the big one "Buffalo River", but I know that will never happen), the wildlife, birds mammals reptiles and the flora, trees, native flowers grasses, insects, butterflies.  All of this and more are what make the natural beauty of this area very much worth protecting and even enhancing and celebrating as a source of major civic pride.  We already know how incredible our tall skyscrapers are and most are works of architectural wonder and art, with many more on the horizon.  But, lets never forget mother nature in this area CAN and does work well with us humans as long as we respect her and just take a little more time with each building project, to figure out the best way to replace any greenery and wildlife and waterway damaged, with native natural beauty, the way that most developers are "required" to offset the ground absorption displacement by having holding ponds/reservoirs installed on each project, to minimize any added flooding caused by the finished product.  Also, so what if we are a marshy swampland (which btw is only in certain far eastern and southeastern parts of the county?)  These parts of our area are a paradise of life at it's most diverse and finest in America.  It is worth noting that several other great American cities, albeit much smaller, have the same climate and swamp lands surrounding their fair cities, yet you rarely hear them complain to the rest of America. These would be cities like Miami, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Savannah, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and indeed, many more famous smaller yet significant cities in the Gulf Coast and Southern Atlantic regions of the lower 48.   So, I feel it is high time for Houston to offer up it's natural beauty and diversity of plant/tree and animal life, and diversity of species as yet one more great reason to visit and enjoy this part of our shared American treasure, which is known as Houston.  Oh yeah, did I mention how bad the mosquitoes are in these other cities ?  Like WAY WORSE at times than Houston's ever thought about being.

 

[pablog]

1 hour ago, ArtNsf said:

 

Yes, and thank you pablog !  Perspective has a lot to do with the feeling Houstonians and the popular media has about this area.  Most of it has been very unfair and false over the decades.  But, perhaps, we are finally breaking through all the negative propaganda (I won't mention which cities and areas in the country are the most guilty of that.  We can all guess pretty accurately anyway.)  There really is so much natural beauty - both "flat and contoured" that surrounds this mega multi-county area of the U.S. and Houston.  The Bayous (which a few are actually really rivers - I vote to rename the big one "Buffalo River", but I know that will never happen), the wildlife, birds mammals reptiles and the flora, trees, native flowers grasses, insects, butterflies.  All of this and more are what make the natural beauty of this area very much worth protecting and even enhancing and celebrating as a source of major civic pride.  We already know how incredible our tall skyscrapers are and most are works of architectural wonder and art, with many more on the horizon.  But, lets never forget mother nature in this area CAN and does work well with us humans as long as we respect her and just take a little more time with each building project, to figure out the best way to replace any greenery and wildlife and waterway damaged, with native natural beauty, the way that most developers are "required" to offset the ground absorption displacement by having holding ponds/reservoirs installed on each project, to minimize any added flooding caused by the finished product.  Also, so what if we are a marshy swampland (which btw is only in certain far eastern and southeastern parts of the county?)  These parts of our area are a paradise of life at it's most diverse and finest in America.  It is worth noting that several other great American cities, albeit much smaller, have the same climate and swamp lands surrounding their fair cities, yet you rarely hear them complain to the rest of America. These would be cities like Miami, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Savannah, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and indeed, many more famous smaller yet significant cities in the Gulf Coast and Southern Atlantic regions of the lower 48.   So, I feel it is high time for Houston to offer up it's natural beauty and diversity of plant/tree and animal life, and diversity of species as yet one more great reason to visit and enjoy this part of our shared American treasure, which is known as Houston.  Oh yeah, did I mention how bad the mosquitoes are in these other cities ?  Like WAY WORSE at times than Houston's ever thought about being.

 

Exactly! It is all a matter of perspective. Houston is so beautiful, diverse, and stunning in its way.

 

The reason why we’ve never done well to protect/preserve our environment is because of this negative perception that we aren’t naturally beautiful. 

 

If we want to be more sustainable, greener, and preserve our natural beauty (Prairies, Swamps, Bayous, Forests, Savannahs, etc) , we need to change our way of thinking and appreciate the unique natural beauty that we are blessed with.

 

Our appreciation will lead developers to appreciate nature as well as there is monetary benefits towards doing so.

[j_cuevas713]

1 hour ago, pablog said:

Exactly! It is all a matter of perspective. Houston is so beautiful, diverse, and stunning in its way.

 

The reason why we’ve never done well to protect/preserve our environment is because of this negative perception that we aren’t naturally beautiful. 

 

If we want to be more sustainable, greener, and preserve our natural beauty (Prairies, Swamps, Bayous, Forests, Savannahs, etc) , we need to change our way of thinking and appreciate the unique natural beauty that we are blessed with.

 

Our appreciation will lead developers to appreciate nature as well as there is monetary benefits towards doing so.

Exactly! That's really the root of the issue. If Houston doesn't respect itself, then developers won't care either. This goes deeper than just out natural beauty. It also involves our infrastructure; sidewalks, roads, transit, etc. 

[Moore713]

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Exactly! That's really the root of the issue. If Houston doesn't respect itself, then developers won't care either. This goes deeper than just out natural beauty. It also involves our infrastructure; sidewalks, roads, transit, etc. 

Where I kind of have to push back...I don't ever think it was a local thing... I always felt it was those not from Houston that feed alot of the problems.. For the longest time alot of business treated Houston as just a place to make money. There was no real desire to invest in the city.. outside of massive bland Corp campuses in the middle of nowhere.. it feels like only around  early 2000 did they  start to think about  creating  places to live and work. And therefore  put thought into how can we build something that meets are needs but is also pleasing to the eye. 

[gmac]

"middle of nowhere"???

[j_cuevas713]

49 minutes ago, gmac said:

"middle of nowhere"???

Yeah like where HP is building, or look at Greenspoint. It was cheap land for corporations to make money. Nothing else. No real long term vision for the community.