News

Feb 01

Spotlight on Board Members “Running” the Show!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is fortunate to have so many enthusiastic board members who are as committed to healthy living as they are to transforming the bayou. Three-year board member Lisa Foronda is an avid Buffalo Bayou Park user and all around picture of health. As highlighted in her in-depth 2010 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Lisa is also passionate about helping people improve their lifestyles. She is a volunteer coach for Power in Motion, an exercise group for beginning runners.

Lisa has been training on the Buffalo Bayou Park trails for 12 years, and recently ran the 41st Annual Houston Marathon presented by Chevron (her 15th marathon) alongside two other board members – Sis Johnson and ex-officio board member and Downtown District President and Executive Director Bob Eury. This was Bob’s 30th consecutive Houston Marathon, an accomplishment which earned him a coveted spot in the Houston Marathon Hall of Fame in early January. Bravo, fearless leaders!

Lisa Foronda, left, runs through Sabine Promeande. Bob Eury, right, completes his 30th consecutive Houston Marathon.

Feb 01

Construction Updates: February 2013

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) continues to conduct channel realignment work near the Police Memorial. Canoeists and kayakers are asked to remove all watercraft at Montrose. After the waterway reopens around mid-March 2013, HCFCD will continue its work upstream to Shepherd.
In the coming weeks, HCFCD will also begin major structural work near the Jane Gregory Garden (just west of the Henry Moore bronze sculpture) and park users will see some large trees being removed from the bayou banks. Because of the severe erosion, HCFCD must get large equipment down to the bank to drill very large concrete drill shafts to pin the bank in place. This is necessary work important to the overall structure of the bayou. HCFCD is attempting to save as many trees as possible.
TxDOT and the City of Houston are nearing completion of the much-anticipated pedestrian bridge at Shepherd Drive and trail users can expect the bridge to be open soon

A special thanks to all bayou users and visitors – construction is at times inconvenient, but we are working to improve and make this stretch of Buffalo Bayou more accessible and enjoyable.

Feb 01

Plans Include Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is also planning for several additions to Buffalo Bayou Park that will make exercising along the bayou a family affair.

Thanks to the Ray C. Fish Foundation’s recent $1 million grant for Buffalo Bayou Park’s Nature Playground, children will explore their environment in a new playground designed around natural features. Given its location along the slopes near the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark, parents will have easy access to parking, restrooms, park staff and the option of renting the playground’s picnic pavilion.

The Nature Playground will include elements from these playgrounds.

Fido and Sparky can also enjoy the great outdoors at the planned dog park located at Montrose and Allen Parkway. The already-popular gathering area will become an “official” dog park, with an added fence, two new swimming ponds and a shaded rest shelter for dog owners. At both the “official” dog park and along the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail, dogs can rehydrate at water fountains with special spigots just their height!

These amenities will be part of construction phase three which will be complete in early 2015.

Feb 01

Stretch Your Legs on the New Trails and Footpaths

Soon, runners, walkers and cyclists will have new and upgraded trails on which to enjoy nature and the bayou. The Texas Department of Transportation and City of Houston continue construction on the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail between Waugh and Sabine. We are happy to report that this work has not discouraged trail users, who are navigating the detours quite well. Runners and trail users should use the trails on the north side of the bayou until construction along Allen Parkway is complete in Spring 2013.

This year, Buffalo Bayou Partnership will also start construction on a series of five-footwide asphalt footpaths closer to the bayou banks. This network of trails will provide visitors safer options to enjoy nature and stroll leisurely through the park.

New drinking fountains and benches will be conveniently located along the new trails, and park users will have access to other amenities, including restrooms and bike rental facilities.

Yellow lines indicate planned footpaths; red lines indicate upgraded hike and bike trails.

Feb 01

2013 Chevron Houston Marathon

Many Houstonians started the new year off with a 26.2-mile marathon or 13.1-mile half marathon. Participants in the 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon had a bayou view as they ran the final stretch of the 41st event on Allen Parkway between Shepherd and Sabine. Despite the rain, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s “Hoopla Station” gave runners at the 24th mile a boost with encouraging banners, noisemakers and signs. Despite the rain, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s “Hoopla Station” gave runners at the 24th mile a boost with encouraging banners, noisemakers and signs.

Congratulations to all runners – including BBP Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator Jessalyn Giacona and Bayou Buddies Steering Committee members Josh Ibarra, Cara Merriman, Claire Smith and Chair Mary Catherine White – on your tremendous accomplishment! (Read our Behind the Scenes article, below, for more Houston Marathon news.)

Nov 30

Accolades and Attention-Grabbing Headlines

In its fall issue, Philanthropy Magazine featured Nancy and Rich Kinder, Buffalo Bayou Park’s $30 million catalyst funders, in an article focused on park philanthropy.

In October, Buffalo Bayou was named one of the nation’s “10 Great Public Spaces” by the American Planning Association. Read about the announcement press conference with Mayor Annise Parker in the Houston Chronicle and see a photo gallery in USA Today.

Thank you to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department Director, Joe Turner, for nominating Buffalo Bayou for this prestigious honor.

Also in October, Buffalo Bayou Partnership received the 2012 Civic Vision Award from AIA Houston. This award is presented to individuals or groups who have consistently and courageously demonstrated civic leadership in improving Houston’s quality of life through architecture, architecture education, landscape architecture, or urban planning. Thank you, AIA!

Nov 30

Welcome, Leigh McBurnett!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is pleased to welcome Leigh McBurnett as our new Director of Development. Leigh has 17 years of development and non-profit management experience. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, she served in numerous fundraising capacities — Assistant Development Director, Senior Annual Giving Coordinator, and Development Assistant. In these positions, she worked to develop and implement the annual giving program for the MFAH, including Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, Rienzi and the Glassell School of Art. She also worked on the capital campaign that raised $127 million for the MFAH’s Audrey Jones Beck Building. Leigh most recently served as Executive Director of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. Welcome Leigh!

Nov 28

Many thanks!

As 2012 comes to a close, we celebrate the significant progress made at Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine and recognize the generosity of Houston’s leading foundations and corporations.

The vision for Buffalo Bayou Park has inspired numerous record-setting gifts including the following:

Kinder Foundation’s catalyst $30 million gift, the largest in the history of Houston’s park system
The Wortham Foundation provided a $5 million challenge grant with a 2:1 matching requirement. The foundation’s gift served as an early catalyst for BBP to raise additional funds and reach out to new donors, and we are happy to announce that BBP has raised more than $10 million to fulfill this challenge
Ray C. Fish Foundation’s recent $1 million grant for Buffalo Bayou Park’s exciting Nature Playground
Carruth Foundation’s $1 million sponsorship of the pedestrian bridge connecting Buffalo Bayou Park to the Police Memorial – the largest gift in the foundation’s history
The Garden Club of Houston’s $250,000 contribution, the largest in the club’s 80-year history, for the park’s Lost Lake perennial gardens

Thanks to these additional Buffalo Bayou Park donors of $50,000+ (as of November 28, 2012):

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
Houston Endowment Inc.
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
The Fondren Foundation
The Cullen Foundation
The Elkins Foundation
Susan Vaughan Foundation
Scurlock Foundation
Brady Carruth
Apache Corporation
River Oaks Garden Club

We are honored that these and other gifts will allow us to develop major park features.

Nov 28

Buffalo Bayou Park – Your Park. Our Park.

Eleanor Tinsley Park

Equally important are the donations that will fund an array of park amenities along the park’s hike and bike trails and at high profile destinations such as The Water Works and Dog Park. Shade pavilions, small foot bridges, meadows and tributaries offer opportunities for all Houstonians to support the park.

Dog Park

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is in the final stage of raising an additional $20 million needed to complete the $55 million Buffalo Bayou Partnership project. With your help, Buffalo Bayou Park – Shepherd to Sabine will be a destination full of activity, energy and natural beauty, as well as a place for quiet reflection and contemplation.

Jackson Hill Bridge is a major naming opportunity.

As you consider giving to a number of worthy organizations this holiday season, please join us in making this significant civic project a reality. Major naming opportunities are still available in addition to opportunities to fund trees, shade pavilions, and pedestrian bridges.

Naming opportunities at Lost Lake.

For more information about supporting the project, please contact Leigh McBurnett, Director of Development, at 713.752.0314 ext. 105, or make an online donation today!

Nov 28

A Room with a View

Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s November 1st gala “Sensational” raised a record-breaking $500,000. Again this year, Sabine Promenade offered guests incredible views of Buffalo Bayou and the downtown skyline. But even more spectacular views are in store for gala-goers when the annual fundraising event is moved to the Sky Lawn at Buffalo Bayou Park in 2015.

Click here for CultureMap’s coverage of the successful 2012 event.

Click here for additional photos by Katya Horner and here for PaperCity/Black Tie photos.

The Sky Lawn, a grassy plateau sitting 15 feet above street level, will be the premier vantage point for bayou and downtown skyline viewing.

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

News Coverage

Big Improvements Coming For Green Spaces Along Eastern Buffalo Bayou Houston Public Media, December 10, 2019
Houston's Buffalo Bayou Transformation Offers Flood-Plan Lessons to Other Cities CoStar, December 3, 2019
Landscape Performance Series Case Study Brief: Buffalo Bayou Park Landscape Architecture Foundation, November 12, 2019
Nonprofit behind Buffalo Bayou Park plans its next project in east Houston Houston Business Journal, October 25, 2019
Plans to transform the east end of Buffalo Bayou to be unveiled Saturday Houston Chronicle, October 25, 2019
RBA Director Anne-Marie Lubenau on the Power of Design to Transform Communities Metropolis Mag, August 9, 2019
Continuing Education: Coastal Resilience Architectural Record, August 1, 2019
Ignoring the Typical: Discover Five Emerging Hidden Gems in Houston The Commoner Magazine, July 30, 2019
We Are the Asteroid III: More than a Mere Traffic Sign The Buzz Magazines, July 2, 2019
Bruner Foundation Announces 2019 Medalists for Rudy Bruner Award For Urban Excellence Architect Magazine, June 27, 2019

Press Releases

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
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 6 May 6, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 5 April 29, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 4 April 22, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 3 April 15, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 2 April 9, 2020
Bringing Buffalo Bayou to You: Part 1 April 1, 2020
Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - March 2020 March 2020

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

Spotlight on Board Members “Running” the Show!

Construction Updates: February 2013

Plans Include Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family

Stretch Your Legs on the New Trails and Footpaths

2013 Chevron Houston Marathon

Accolades and Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Welcome, Leigh McBurnett!

Many thanks!

Buffalo Bayou Park – Your Park. Our Park.

A Room with a View

News Coverage

Press Releases

Monthly Newsletters

Banking on Buffalo Bayou

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