Shepherd to Sabine - Buffalo Bayou Partnership

BuffaloBayouShepherd to SabinePark m a s t e r planJanuary 18, 2011

contents1 SUMMARY7 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND31 MASTER PLAN47 THE PROJECT107 PROTECTING THE INVESTMENT121 Appendices

The Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) wishes to thank:2010 Buffalo Bayou Partnership Board of DirectorsChairChuck CarlbergVice ChairJudy NyquistVice ChairGeorge Wm. (Trey) StrakeTreasurerBob PhillipsSecretaryLorie Westrick, AIA, LEED APPresidentAnne OlsonSami AhmadEd AlldayCarol BallardCarol ButlerMark CoverCollin J. CoxJanelle DanielKathy Flanagan-PaytonSonny FloresLisa ForondaDebby FrancisJohn G. GarzaSteven J. GibsonGerald D. (Jerry) HigdonSis JohnsonHarry LambertonC.C. Lee, AIA, LEED APMartha K. LongSusan McEldoonAdrian PattersonSarah PowellMohammad Ashraf RamjiEdna RamosShannon B. Sasser, AIADorothee SauterChad ShawJeff TaylorWilliam J. Taylor, IIIDancie Perugini WareLeslye Lucas WeaverMargaret WolfeCatalyst FunderKinder FoundationFundersHarris County Flood Control District (HCFCD)The Carruth FoundationCentral Houston Civic Improvement, Inc.Houston Architecture FoundationLionstone GroupHouston Arts AllianceJudy and Scott NyquistThe Powell FoundationSteering CommitteeNancy G. Kinder, chairBrady Carruth, buffalo bayou partnershipGary Dudley, kinder foundationAndy Icken and Joe Turner, city of houstonMike Talbott, harris county flood control districtBBP Projects CommitteeMark Cover, chairMike GarverShannon SasserJeff TaylorEnvironmental Advisory CommitteeDiana Foss, texas parks & wildlife departmentJaime Gonzalez, katy prairie conservancyT.J. Marks, houston parks & recreation departmentEvelyn Merz, sierra clubMickey Merritt, texas forestry serviceWoody Woodrow, u.s. fish & wildlife serviceConsultantsSWA Group master planAviles Engineering Corporation geotechnicalBPA/Eric Ruckstuhl riparian plantsJoe Blanton native plantsInfill Planning Design & Development lightingStephen Korns lighting conceptMoore Archeological Consultants archeologyRDP Engineers, Inc. structural engineeringAECOM—HCFCD preliminary engineering& site surveyCORE Design Studio graphic designGuy Hagstette, AIA project managementphotographyJim Olive, Photolive, Inc. cover, pgs. 2, 70 bottom leftRichard Carson pg. 118Van Stephens pg. 70 top leftJim Caldwell pg. 70 right middle

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1.1Group,summaryBuffalo Bayou from downtown to Shepherd Drive is Houston’sIconic Landscape. The result of a century-old civic vision todevelop a greenbelt extending from downtown west to a regionalpark, now known as Memorial Park, this green space is one ofHouston’s triumphs of civic will and planning implemented over aperiod of decades in the early 20th century. While the view fromMemorial Drive and Allen Parkway still offers green vistas anddramatic contrasts with the downtown skyline, the green spaceitself is suffering from years of under-funded maintenance and theabsence of a master plan to guide improvements, both of which arepreventing this unique natural asset from fulfilling its potential asone of this country’s great urban parks.With significant philanthropic support led by the Kinder Foundation,the Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) embarked on a privatelyfundedmaster plan for the area earlier this year in partnership withthe City of Houston (City) and the Harris County Flood ControlDistrict (HCFCD). As the owner of the land, the City will oversee thisredevelopment process and the park’s ongoing operations, whichincludes a commitment to fund maintenance upon completion ofconstruction. More than 50 years after its last investment in thisarea, HCFCD was invited to conduct a parallel preliminary engineeringstudy of the bayou channel to determine how the channel might berestored and maintained in an environmentally sensitive mannerwhile also improving its storm water storage and conveyancecapacity. Based on the plan presented in this report, the KinderFoundation is prepared to increase its funding to $30,000,000,conditioned upon a funding commitment for maintenance of thepark, and BBP is prepared to raise up to $20,000,000 more in privatefunds so the ambitious improvements described in this Master Plancan be implemented in an era of limited government resources. BBPalso is willing to play a role in the park’s maintenance.Based on BBP’s visionary master plan for Buffalo Bayou fromShepherd Drive ten miles east to the Turning Basin released in 2002,Buffalo Bayou and Beyond produced by the Thompson Designthis more detailed project-based Master Plan seeks toenhance the green space, improve recreational amenities, restore thebayou channel, and improve access to nearby neighborhoods and thecity at large, transforming the area into Buffalo Bayou Park*, thecenterpiece and focal point for Houston’s growing network of linearparks along the region’s bayous. The Master Plan builds upon currentand planned projects that are already under way:• The Rosemont Bridge (east of Studemont) and connectortrails that are well on their way to completion, funded by theCity’s Memorial Heights Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #5(TIRZ #5).• Spanish artist Jaume Plensa’s “Tolerance” at the RosemontBridge’s south approach, to be completed in early 2011 byHouston Arts Alliance.• Reconstruction of the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail by the Cityand TxDOT, scheduled to begin construction in mid-2011.• HCFCD’s Pilot Project west of downtown, which has testedchannel restoration concepts and public support for this work.With this Master Plan and the related HCFCD Preliminary EngineeringReport complete and indications of strong support for the projectfrom Houston’s citizens and philanthropic community, the City, BBPand HCFCD are positioned to quickly move forward into final designand engineering in early 2011. Furthermore, the goal is to beginchannel restoration work and improvements to the green space inmid-2012. This schedule should allow for a seamless transition fromTxDOT’s hike and bike trail construction project into overall greenspace improvements described in this Master Plan and overseen bythe City, BBP and HCFCD. If approvals and permits are obtained in atimely manner, construction should be completed by mid-2015.* Buffalo Bayou Park is a project name, not the park’s proposed officialname. The official park name will be the product of a naming process tobe approved by HPARD’s Naming Policy Committee and will not supersedeearlier official designations.3

Illustrative Site PlanJACKSON HILL STREETSTUDEMONT STREETSTUDEMONT STREETSAWYER STREETSHEPHERD DRIVESABINE STREETMEMORIAL DRIVEMEMORIAL DRIVEALLEN PARKWAYROCHOW STREETWAUGH DRIVEMONTROSE BOULEVARDMONTROSE BOULEVARDTAFT STREETGILLETTE STREETALLEN PARKWAYSTANFORD STREET5