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Buffalo Bayou Master Plan

WestGrayGuy

By WestGrayGuy
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hindesky

hindesky

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We are pleased to announce the opening of Carmen Herrera's Estructuras Monumentales in Buffalo Bayou Park! This spectacular outdoor exhibition by one of the world's most important living artists features four newly-created sculptures that were first envisioned nearly five decades ago. Estructuras Monumentales is the 105-year-old Herrera's first public art exhibition in Houston and only the second time that these large scale works have been presented globally.

Organized in partnership with the New York City-based non-profit Public Art Fund, Estructuras Monumentales was first presented at Manhattan’s City Hall Park in 2019. This major survey exhibition offers Houston audiences a powerful and reflective experience that celebrates the full breadth of Herrera’s work in three dimensions. Concurrent with this exhibition is a showing of Herrera’s works at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Now through April 23, 2021, you can visit these vibrant, larger-than-life Estructuras at the Fondren Foundation Meadow in Buffalo Bayou Park (Allen Parkway at Gillette Street) along with the Park's permanent sculpture, Henry Moore's Spindle. The five sculptures together are reflective of our Artful Anniversary, the fifth anniversary of Buffalo Bayou Park!

 

3zfh1gV.png

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Moore713

Moore713

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13 hours ago, downtownian said:

 

Long time horizon here unfortunately - decade plus.

That fine one of the biggest knocks on here is always about how short sighted Houston is and never plans long term... good to see it thinking 20, 30 , 50 years down...even of we don't benefit in our life time.

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AnTonY

AnTonY

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Going back through images, you can really see how good the Buffalo Bayou features the buildings, even in very narrow areas near downtown. So it would be even more impressive if the city continues these types of eastward development projects, where the waterways are wider (to handle huge ships, and lose the bank spillage issues).

 

In a way, it sort of reminds me of the River Spree in Berlin, Germany. You look at that cityscape, and can follow the entire length of the developments from the very narrow ends of the river to the very wide ends.

Edited by AnTonY
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tangledwoods

tangledwoods

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So BBP doesn't like the Corps plan, but they don't say anything about what a better idea would look like.  Do they have an alternative??

 

Quote

Is there any explanation of how it is supposed to work to widen and deepen the channel to speed the outflow, but only do so to approximately Studemont, if I understand correctly?  Won't that create/add to huge flooding events in the Studemont-Shepherd area?

 

Part of the Corps plan relies on other work by the County / City which is already funded mainly the North Canal Bypass and the demo of derelict buildings along the bayou downtown.

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H-Town Man

H-Town Man

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1 hour ago, tangledwoods said:

So BBP doesn't like the Corps plan, but they don't say anything about what a better idea would look like.  Do they have an alternative??

 

I think the alternative would be to keep Houston's most prominent scenic resource intact and accept the current frequency of flooding with some possible alternative improvements. They knew back in the 60's when they decided not to channel and pave the bayou that there was a tradeoff involved. Why these massive expenditure, horrendously ugly, good ol' boy plans keep getting proposed is a relevant question.

 

buffalo-bayou-improvement.png

 

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ArtNsf

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53 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

I think the alternative would be to keep Houston's most prominent scenic resource intact and accept the current frequency of flooding with some possible alternative improvements. They knew back in the 60's when they decided not to channel and pave the bayou that there was a tradeoff involved. Why these massive expenditure, horrendously ugly, good ol' boy plans keep getting proposed is a relevant question.

 

buffalo-bayou-improvement.png

 

 

AMEN! I couldn't agree more. 

 

And, why is it that we humans always think that we are so much smarter than Mother Nature by relentlessly and arrogantly trying to "improve on nature's process" of dispersing flooding waters by cementing over and channeling waterways, when the natural soil we have and the natural vegetation in the yes, natural flood plains does a much better job in the long run? 

 

We always seem to fail miserably (everywhere in the World) when we build in say well established and well known flood zones.  I'm hoping that mitigating and reversing this sort of bad way of thinking, man made problem is high on the list of things to be done in the future to lessen flooding around this gigantic, extremely populated Metropolis, that continues to grow by leaps and bounds in both infrastructure and population.  All for very good and very positive reasons.

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H-Town Man

H-Town Man

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2 minutes ago, ArtNsf said:

 

AMEN! I couldn't agree more. 

 

And, why is it that we humans always think that we are so much smarter than Mother Nature by relentlessly and arrogantly trying to "improve on nature's process" of dispersing flooding waters by cementing over and channeling waterways, when the natural soil we have and the natural vegetation in the yes, natural flood plains does a much better job in the long run? 

 

We always seem to fail miserably (everywhere in the World) when we build in say well established and well known flood zones.  I'm hoping that mitigating and reversing this sort of bad way of thinking, man made problem is high on the list of things to be done in the future to lessen flooding around this gigantic, extremely populated Metropolis, that continues to grow by leaps and bounds in both infrastructure and population.  All for very good and very positive reasons.

 

Well, I wouldn't go that far. The Netherlands is a miracle of engineering, and most cities have benefitted from swamp drainage and flood mitigation. Downtown Houston used to flood much worse before they built the reservoirs, Galveston would be gone by now if not for the seawall, Austin used to regularly see downtown flood up to the level of 7th Street before they built a bunch of dams along the Colorado, downtown Dallas had massive flooding before they rerouted the Trinity River, San Antonio was able to build a riverwalk by bypassing that section of the river, etc., etc.

 

But yes, there have been a lot of ugly and harmful projects.

 

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ArtNsf

ArtNsf

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1 minute ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Well, I wouldn't go that far. The Netherlands is a miracle of engineering, and most cities have benefitted from swamp drainage and flood mitigation. Downtown Houston used to flood much worse before they built the reservoirs, Galveston would be gone by now if not for the seawall, Austin used to regularly see downtown flood up to the level of 7th Street before they built a bunch of dams along the Colorado, downtown Dallas had massive flooding before they rerouted the Trinity River, San Antonio was able to build a riverwalk by bypassing that section of the river, etc., etc.

 

But yes, there have been a lot of ugly and harmful projects.

 

 

I understand what you are saying.  However, what I didn't make clear, is that what I'm saying applies (from my perspective since the "damage" is already done worldwide, with yes, many successes, and also many failures) to FUTURE city planning world wide, especially given the fact that human population is continuing to rise exponentially, thus further reducing available, sustainable, livable land masses that future human populations might want to live on.  Yes, "they" are making more land, naturally and man made, but it is minuscule in comparison to how our present society is depleting resources, ground water and healthy lands.  For me, it all comes down to "let's please not foul our own nests any more than we already have" since this is our only home and it doesn't appear we'll be moving to another planet to use and abuse anytime soon.

 

I do applaud some of the wonderful achievements of the Army Corp of Engineers over the decades, here in Houston and elsewhere, and I'm not saying to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  But, obviously, what they want to do to the bayou all the way up to Studemont, is going to cause big problems in our extremely beautiful new BBP and all it has to offer and the beautiful slow meandering natural river known as Buffalo Bayou.  So, it's just a single issue I'm taking up with them on and not an over all damnation of the USACE in any way.  Sorry if i failed to make that clear. 

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EastEndHeritage

EastEndHeritage

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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 by EastEndHeritage
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Naviguessor

Naviguessor

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^^
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. 

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hindesky

hindesky

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

Photo of Molly Glentzer
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

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