It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing that defines a major city like Houston. But when it comes to understanding the force behind the city’s expanding park system, it’s no trouble at all. In fact, all one needs do is speak with Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) Director Joe Turner for five minutes before a particular “p” word pops up.
“Our department is based on providing good parks and green space for our citizens,” states Turner. “And the end result is, how do we get there with partnerships?”
Houston has embarked on several major collaborations that, by many accounts, will redefine the city’s quality of life. Over the next decade, the extensive park and recreation system — which currently includes 365 developed green spaces comprising 37,832 acres of land, 60 community centers, 38 pools, 230 playgrounds and 128.69 miles of trails — will see the addition of a massive greenway network along Houston’s waterways. Houston also has plans to bring new life to parks in underserved areas and make improvements to several iconic public spaces.
It was maintenance, according to Turner, that was HPARD’s focus when he became director in 2004. The department spent several years updating its maintenance procedures for its parks, esplanades and medians, library grounds, buildings and facilities, a comprehensive effort involving many partners and external “adoptee” entities. Now, as Houston moves, to use Turner’s words, “toward the green world,” partnerships continue to play a critical role.
Greening the Bayous
The most ambitious of Houston’s greening efforts is Bayou Greenways 2020, a $205 million component of the Bayou Greenways Initiative. In partnership with the Houston Parks Board and the Harris County Flood Control District, the city is creating a ribbon of linear green spaces along its 10 major waterways, resulting in 1,500 acres of new parkland and 77 miles of new hiking and biking trails. The additions will connect the scattered pockets of developed green space in the corridors, creating a continuous 150-mile park and trail system and threading together neighborhoods, employment centers and civic amenities.
“[Landscape Architect] Arthur Comey did a planning study in the early 1900s, and part of the concept was how we had a wonderful mechanism to build this park space,” Turner says. “We started in the 1920s…but the Great Depression and other things happened, and we moved away from it. In the last 10 years, we’ve rediscovered our heritage and said ‘This is the way we need to go,’ because it will allow so much of our community to be connected.”
In November 2012, Houston voters approved a major bond referendum providing $166 million in park funding, $100 million of which is dedicated to Bayou Greenways 2020 efforts along seven major stretches of bayous. The Houston Parks Board is raising the additional funds needed for the project, and to date, the organization has raised more than $20 million. The Houston Parks Board estimates that the greenways will provide access from 75 percent of the city to the city center, making most of Houston walkable and bikeable for the first time.
“Houston is uniquely positioned with numerous bayous that crisscross the city, connect diverse neighborhoods and represent significant ecological capital,” says Houston Parks Board Executive Director Roksan Okan-Vick. “Developing connected green corridors with hike and bike trails along the bayous brings a smart and sustainable resolution to alleviate our recreation, green space and flooding challenges.”
Geographically, much of the associated lands are in the floodway or floodplain, and Okan-Vick emphasizes the improved water quality and flood management that will result from the creation of wet-bottom detention systems, native plantings and the conversion of existing hardscape to green space. “[The city] would greatly benefit from increased green space and porous land along the bayou corridors,” Okan-Vick says.
HPARD has also embarked on a separate, dedicated revitalization effort of Buffalo Bayou Park in conjunction with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Kinder Foundation and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority/Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ #3). The project, costing an estimated $58 million, will include the restoration of the bayou channel and landscapes, the reconstruction of the park’s high-use trails into a concrete trail system along a 160-acre, 2.3-mile bayou stretch, and the addition of visitors’ centers, parking and other amenities.
Turner emphasizes the roles partners have played in every aspect of the project, from the foundation’s massive $30 million donation, to the Buffalo Bayou Partnerships’ future role as the entity that will maintain the park, and the $2 million per year in maintenance funds that will be provided by TIRZ #3 through 2043.
“That’s how you win a project,” says Turner. “We don’t have to own the project. We just need it to be a good one that will serve our citizens.”
Celebrating History
As HPARD draws toward its 100th year in 2016, the department has several initiatives in the works that will enhance its most historically significant green spaces. The most prominent is the renovation of Emancipation Park — the oldest park in the city — in partnership with the Houston Endowment, the Kinder Foundation, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Houston Parks Board, the Old Spanish Trail/Almeda Corridors Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ #7) and Friends of Emancipation Park. The 10-acre parcel of land was originally purchased by four former slaves in 1872 for use as a private park and was donated to the city in 1916. It is thought that the first Juneteenth celebration in history may have taken place there to commemorate the announcement in Texas of the U.S. abolition of slavery.
Officially kicking off on Oct. 26, 2013, the $33.6 million plans include a new recreation center and renovated community center (both are intended for LEED certification), the renovation of a historic pool house, a new swimming pool, new sports fields and facilities, a walking path, an urban playground, a sprayground and rocking chairs. Renovations are set to be overseen by renowned African-American architect Philip Freelon.
“We’re claiming our heritage,” Turner states. “And not only with regard to the history of the park and what it means, but for an underserved area that will receive an amazing park facility.”
Turner also points out the city’s plans to break ground on the eight-acre McGovern Centennial Gardens project, a $30 million initiative happening in partnership with the Hermann Park Conservancy. The new gardens will replace the Houston Garden Center at Hermann Park, home to signature amenities such as the Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The gardens will commemorate the iconic park’s 100th birthday. The conservancy raised $28.5 million of the total funds needed for the project, and $7 million have been earmarked as a maintenance endowment.
When speaking with Turner, one begins to sense the true magnitude of greening America’s fourth-largest city. He mentions many other major projects, including an upgrade of Memorial Park, one of the nation’s largest urban parks, and the extensive transformation of Shady Lane Park, in which a new nature-themed playground will be installed via the NRPA Parks Build Community initiative.
The key, says Turner, is to be open to anything — as long as it works.
“There’s no set pattern…the deal is the deal,” Turner says. “But the deal has to be good for the department, the TIRZ and our citizens.”
He continues, “We are very protective of our parks…but we don’t always need to be the operator. We look to work with [people and organizations] who will help make major improvements….Our families, our corporations and our foundations are what have made our park system.”
Amy Kapp is a freelance writer in northern Virginia.