Memorial Park Expansion
Changing Memorial Park
Memorial Park’s new Clay Family Eastern Glades is now open to the public. The project includes the 5.5-acre Hines Lake and wetlands, 2.5 miles of new boardwalks and walking trails, and new picnicking areas. Many more trees have been taken during this project with new ones also being planted. The park is being transformed for more utilization and to accommodate the PGA’s Houston Open Golf Tournament. The project has involved massive amounts of concrete being poured that has significantly altered the dynamic of the park’s long standing wilderness atmosphere.
Memorial Park Conservancy and project partners at Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Kinder Foundation and the Uptown Development Authority are unveiling the Clay Family Eastern Glades. Eastern Glades is now open to the public and can be easily accessed from a parking lot with bike racks along the Seymour Lieberman Exer-Trail and a pedestrian plaza at the intersection of Crestwood Drive and Blossom Street, as well as by vehicle or public transport at the intersection of Memorial Drive and East Memorial Loop Road.
The completed 100 acres Eastern Glades project includes:
- Establishes the 5.5-acre Hines Lake and wetlands providing stormwater detention and reuse for irrigation, and aquatic habitat
- Introduces over 2.5 miles of majestic new boardwalks and accessible walking trails as well as opportunities to experience and learn about natural ecology systems
- Significantly expands community areas with the opening of Live Oak Court, a new food truck court and event lawn, in addition to three covered picnic pavilions, four picnic areas and a grand lakeside plaza
- Draws upon the Park’s history, re-establishing a pedestrian entry at one of the original entrances to Camp Logan, the World War I military training facility for which Memorial Park is named
- Features personal quotes from more than 50 Houstonians describing what the Park means to them. Houston’s 2020 Youth Poet Laureate, Madison Petaway, curated these unique quotes for permanent installation around Eastern Glades’ Central Lawn.
“Eastern Glades honors and celebrates what Houstonians love most about the city’s largest urban wilderness and recreation park while providing an expansive new area to explore and discover,” said Shellye Arnold, President and CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy. “We are thrilled to celebrate two important milestones as we deliver this first project of the Master Plan in concert with the 20th anniversary of Memorial Park Conservancy.”
Eastern Glades Phase I opened in October 2018 and included relocating a portion of East Memorial Loop Road; extending the Seymour Lieberman Trail; adding new restrooms, parking, dark-sky pedestrian lighting and multiuse trails for safer biking and walking; and providing drainage infrastructure to facilitate stormwater management and water purification. The Uptown Development Authority funded and led Phase I of the project.
“We are proud to call Houston home, and happy to support Memorial Park as it becomes the preeminent outdoor space for all Houstonians to enjoy now and forever,” said Emily Clay. “Houstonians deserve nothing but the best,” added Robert Clay. Together, the couple contributed $10 million to the Master Plan, naming the Eastern Glades for their family – a fitting gesture that echoes the welcoming feel of this new community gathering space.
An essential component of Eastern Glades includes an extensive ecological restoration and conversion process. The Conservancy’s data-driven and scientifically grounded approach involves removal of invasive species undergrowth, allowing native trees to grow; establishment of healthy forest structure and biodiversity through the addition of native woody species and herbaceous plants; and stewardship through ongoing maintenance. While the conversion process is ongoing, the resulting restored natural areas will be more resilient to climatic conditions and more hospitable to diverse wildlife.
“The Conservancy has done impressive work restoring nearly 40 acres of degraded habitat in Eastern Glades so far and planting more than 150 native species to help promote and sustain wildlife. Restoring the landscape not only creates wonderful spaces for people to enjoy nature, but also provides important benefits for the overall ecology of the Park and plays an integral role in stormwater management,” said Nancy Kinder, President and CEO of the Kinder Foundation, Ten-Year Plan catalyst donor and project partner. “This opening is just the start of what is to come. Memorial Park is a regional treasure, and we look forward to witnessing the Park’s continued transformation.”
Nelson Byrd Woltz served as the lead design firm for the Master Plan and the Eastern Glades project. Globally recognized, they were selected based on their successful work with ecologically challenged public spaces and their science and research-based approach.
The total Eastern Glades project cost is $35 million. The City of Houston invested $10 million in Eastern Glades through the Uptown TIRZ for project infrastructure including the moving of a road that had previously cut the 100-acre area in half. Donors to the Conservancy including Emily and Robert Clay, Wendy and Jeff Hines, the Kinder Foundation and others provided the balance – $25 million – to restore the site’s distressed ecologies and build the amenities. In 2018, the Kinder Foundation provided a catalyst gift of $70 million to accelerate the delivery of ten years’ worth of Master Plan projects and joined the Conservancy, Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Uptown Development Authority as a project partner for the delivery of these Master Plan projects. The Conservancy continues raising funds for additional projects as part of its capital campaign.
ABOUT MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY
Memorial Park Conservancy is a non-profit organization created to restore, preserve, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow. Now celebrating its 20th year, the Conservancy’s vision is to implement the principles of world-class park management and stewardship in partnership with the Houston community. A volunteer Board of Directors is led by Chairman Steve Jenkins, and works under the leadership of President & CEO Shellye Arnold. Memorial Park Conservancy is operationally responsible for managing 1,100 of the Park’s 1,500 acres including the green spaces, open spaces and trails.
ABOUT THE MEMORIAL PARK MASTER PLAN
The Memorial Park Master Plan is a visionary plan for the future of Houston’s largest urban wilderness and recreation park. The Master Plan focuses on: restoring the Park’s ecological systems and creating greater resiliency; reconnecting the Park’s land, waterways, trails, and people; consolidating compatible uses together in appropriate areas; tending to the land and the Park’s cultural history, maintaining balance through responsible management; and enhancing the overall Park experience and amenities. It includes capital improvements, long-term conservation, and an operations and maintenance plan for the Park. It was unanimously approved by Houston City Council in 2015. The Ten-Year Plan enables Memorial Park Conservancy to accelerate design and construction of significant components of the Memorial Park Master Plan and was made possible by a catalyst gift from the Kinder Foundation, which leveraged funding through the Uptown Development Authority, and by the generosity of other donors. Execution of the Ten-Year Plan is overseen by the Memorial Park Standards Committee, a partnership comprised of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Memorial Park Conservancy, the Kinder Foundation, and Uptown Development Authority.