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News

Find the latest news about Buffalo Bayou Partnership and all the doings along Buffalo Bayou.

Dec 04

Looking East

Now that Buffalo Bayou Park is complete and downtown’s TIGER trail and Sunset Coffee Building’s restoration are wrapping up, BBP is initiating plans for the bayou’s east sector. Planning is underway to make an important trail connection from Allen’s Landing to McKee Street east of downtown. This addition will link to several miles of trails that are already in place.

Grant Awarded for Buffalo Bayou East Sector Plan

Earlier this year, we were honored to receive a $500,000 grant from Houston Endowment Inc. to develop a strategic plan for the bayou’s east sector extending from US 59 to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. This effort will build from the recommendations of BBP’s 2002 Buffalo Bayou and Beyond study. While the west and downtown sectors of Buffalo Bayou are publicly owned and have existing nodes of activity, the east sector offers a “blank canvas” with a distinctly industrial character. The bayou can be a catalyst for development in both surrounding neighborhoods and the greater Houston region. In addition to considerable opportunities, the area presents significant challenges such as fragmented property ownership, low population density, and a lack of complementary uses fronting the bayou. Throughout 2016, BBP will work with consultants and community stakeholders to develop a vision and implementation strategy that will continue the transformative role that Buffalo Bayou is playing in downtown and the west sector.

Several planning efforts conducted over the past year will provide valuable information and research as Buffalo Bayou Partnership moves forward with the east sector plan.

Livable Centers Study Completed

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For nine months, BBP worked with the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation and Greater East End Management District on a Livable Centers Study. Sponsored by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the planning initiative is designed to create walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, multi-modal transportation choices, and private investment leveraged with public improvements.

To improve access to Buffalo Bayou, the Livable Centers Study recommended:

  • Creating a complete streets network connecting north and south to Buffalo Bayou
  • Improving bikeway network connectivity
  • Constructing bridges that serve as connectors and strengthen neighborhood identity
  • Establishing a pedestrian sidewalk network

The study also looked at various scenarios for redeveloping bayou-fronting properties. Read the Livable Centers Study.

Urban Land Institute Experts Provide Recommendations for East End Development

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In November, BBP along with the Greater East End Management District, New Hope Housing and METRO sponsored an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) that focused on an area from Harrisburg to Buffalo Bayou. Over a two-day period, a group of ULI real estate and urban planning experts interviewed neighborhood stakeholders, business owners and developers.

At a community meeting, panelists presented their findings and offered recommendations for transit-oriented development along the Harrisburg light rail line. The group said the best way to stimulate residential and commercial development is to offer incentives through a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ). A final report will be issued within the coming month.

ULI TAPs provide expert, independent and unbiased input from real estate and planning professionals.  Panelists bring valuable points of view to help kick-start critical conversation and decision-making regarding land use and real estate development challenges.

BBP sincerely thanks those individuals who were part of the East End: Gary Altergott (Morris Architects), Bart Barrett (Wood Partners), Justin Boyar (HFF), Bill Fulton (Kinder Institute for Urban Research), Ron Lindsey (RDL Consulting), Eta Paransky (City of Houston), Abbey Roberson (HOK), and Sherry Weesner (Scenic Houston).

BBP to Participate in Kinder Institute’s Community Bridges Program

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BBP will be joining a group of Fifth Ward organizations in a service learning program known as Community Bridges. Through an academic course and active fieldwork sponsored by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Community Bridges Fellows develop and implement Fifth Ward neighborhood projects to address social inequality, poverty and socioeconomic mobility. As part of the program, BBP has been assigned Fellow Caroline Brigham, a Rice University junior architecture student, who will research and plan green space connections from Buffalo Bayou to the Fifth Ward. Two tributaries known as Japhet Creek and Ingraham Gulley will be the focus of Caroline’s work. BBP has already purchased land along Japhet Creek and hopes to undertake a master planning effort to fully restore the property. Other Fifth Ward Community Bridges participants include: Can Do Houston, Can River Gardens, Covenant Community Capital, Executive Personnel Staffing Incorporated, Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, Pleasant Hill Leadership Institute, School Literacy & Culture, Small Steps Nurturing Center and YES Prep Fifth Ward.

For press inquiries, email Trudi Smith, Director of PR and Events, or call 713.752.0314 ext. 103.

News Coverage

  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s East Sector Plans Get a $10 Million Boost Houstonia Mag, December 9, 2020
  • What’s next for Buffalo Bayou? $10 million grant accelerates master plan's 3 key projects Houston Chronicle, December 9, 2020
  • Here's the next show coming to the Cistern. Imagine a turntable. Houston Chronicle, November 24, 2020
  • Houstonians toast Buffalo Bayou Park's birthday with picnic under the stars Culture Map, November 11, 2020
  • Houston’s Beloved $58 Million Park Celebrates a Milestone With the Ultimate Starry Night Paper City, November 9, 2020
  • Picnic celebrates Buffalo Bayou Park Houston Chronicle, November 6, 2020
  • Check Out Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales, an Exhibition 50 Years in the Making Houstonia Mag, October 28, 2020
  • El parque Buffalo Bayou celebra su quinto aniversario Univision, October 26, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou’s new soundtrack is heard in landscape thanks to ROCO Houston Chronicle, October 22, 2020
  • The story behind the new sculptures at Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park Houston Chronicle, October 20, 2020
more

Press Releases

  • Houston Endowment Awards Buffalo Bayou Partnership $10M Grant December 9, 2020
  • Immersive Installation by Anri Sala in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern November 23, 2020
  • Houston Celebrates Texas Arbor Day by planting 600 trees at Buffalo Bend Nature Center November 10, 2020
  • Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales (En Español) September 28, 2020
  • A “musical scavenger hunt” with ROCO and Buffalo Bayou Partnership September 21, 2020
  • Artful Anniversary: A series of virtual and visual arts events through the month of October to celebrate 5 Years of Buffalo Bayou Park September 10, 2020
  • Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales September 3, 2020
  • Harris County Flood Control District and Buffalo Bayou Partnership Making Repairs along Buffalo Bayou as part of the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Program August 20, 2019
  • Carlos Cruz-Diez at the Cistern: Spatial Chromointerference April 11, 2018
  • Encounter: Meeting Points on Buffalo Bayou March 5, 2018
more

Monthly Newsletters

  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - January 2021 January 13, 2021
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - December 2020 December 10, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - November 2020 November 10, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - October 2020 October 1, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - September 2020 September 9, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - August 2020 August 12, 2020
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - July 2020 July 17, 2020
  • Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 9 May 28, 2020
  • Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 8 May 20, 2020
  • Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 7 May 13, 2020
more

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2020 January 2020
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2019 May 2019
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2019 January 2019
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2018 July 2018
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2017 August 2017
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2017 March 2017
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2016 December 2016
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2016 July 2016
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2016 March 2016
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Fall 2015 December 2015
more

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