MEMORIAL PARK MASTER PLAN FACT SHEET

OVERVIEW
• 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. The Ten-Year Plan enables the
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.

ORIGIN
• The need for a Master Plan stemmed from multiple sources, including natural
disruptions such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the 2011 drought; a growing
population and increasing demand for Park space; a desire for connectivity;
opportunities to improve infrastructure; public safety and conservation practices.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
• An essential component of the Master Planning effort was a market study and a
robust public input process. This input process ensured that all Houstonians had the
opportunity to shape the future of Memorial Park.
• Engagement highlights included:
- 3,300 participants in public process via public meetings, online input and focused
workshops
- 8 large public meetings (1,200 people attended) were held along with community
meetings across Houston
- 288 participants joined 20 focus workshops geared toward educators, local
neighborhoods, teens, recreation, diversity and inclusion, and young
professionals
- 20 in-depth interviews with experts, such as demographers and park industry
leaders
 - An interactive microsite resulting in 29,061 pageviews, 9,691 unique visitors, and
1,829 survey participants engaged online
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects is leading design of the Master Plan
incorporating public input that engaged over 3,000 participants and comprehensive
site research with 75 scientists.
– Public Input Key Findings:
 Improve access to the Park
 Enhance existing character and amenities within the Park
 Establish a healthier ecology telling the story of the Park’s history
 Better signage and communication about offerings
 Increase safety
 Continue to ensure a balance between nature and recreation
– Scientific Expert Key Findings:
 Human activity has shaped the Park over time: it is not a “pristine” or
“remnant” landscape
 The Park is spatially fragmented by roadways and feels much smaller than it
is. Reconnecting areas with the Park provide greater opportunities for
restoration and recreation.
 The Park was not always as densely forested in the areas beyond the “gallery”
forests along the bayou and its tributaries.
 The soils and hydrology of the Park are the foundations for the plant
communities they support and indicated a greater variety of forest and open
grassland savannas and prairie would yield a more stable and resilient
landscape.
 Active management and continued maintenance are essential for a stable and
resilient Park landscape.
– Master Plan Design Guiding Principles
 Based on the studies from public input and scientific site research and
analysis, we established the Master Plan’s Guiding Principles:
• Restoring the ecology or the Park and our connection to it
• Consolidating compatible uses together in appropriate areas
• Tending the land and our cultural history, maintaining balance through
responsible management
• Reconnecting the land, waterways, trails, people and memories
• Enhancing the overall park experience and its amenities
TEN-YEAR PLAN
• The Ten-Year Plan enables Memorial Park Conservancy to design and construct
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.
• Projects included in the Ten-Year Plan:
– Eastern Glades
 Reclaiming 100 acres of largely inaccessible parkland, Eastern Glades
encapsulates the vision of the Master Plan. The project expands picnicking,
parking, and restrooms; extends the running trail to a full 3-mile loop;
establishes a 5-acre lake and wetlands; provides trails and boardwalks to
experience Park wildlife and natural habitats; and honors the Park’s military
history. Phase I of Eastern Glades opened in 2018; the completed project is
scheduled to open in 2020.
– Sports Complex Phase I
 Sports fields and volleyball courts will be relocated to join the recreation
facilities in the northeast quadrant of the Park as part of the early phase of
the future Memorial Park Sports Complex.
– Central Connector - Land Bridge and Prairie
 A land bridge over Memorial Drive will reunite the north and south sides of
the Park, providing safe crossing for people and wildlife. A restored network
of native prairie and savanna will act as a green sponge, helping to absorb
stormwater, mitigate flooding, and conquer the effects of concrete in the
heart of a densely populated urban environment.
– Running Complex
 The existing Cullen Running Trails Center will anchor a new timing track,
pavilion and restrooms, and will serve as a gateway to the Park’s southern
wilderness for runners, bikers, hikers, and nature enthusiasts alike.
– Memorial Groves
 A living memorial to the WWI soldiers who trained at Camp Logan, trees
aligned in regiments will shelter gathering spaces for reflection and education
among the 100-year-old remnants of the camp.
– Connectivity: Trails and Bridges
 A series of trails and bridges will increase connectivity within and beyond
Memorial Park, converting the Park from an isolated urban greenspace into a
key connector along Houston’s greenways and hike-and-bike paths,
 encouraging access and welcoming multi-modal forms of transportation to
and through the Park.

– Outer Loop Trail

 The existing multi-modal portion of the Outer Loop Trail will be extended
through Memorial Groves, Eastern Glades, and the Sports Complex,
completing an important amenity for those pursuing north side recreation,
including joggers and cyclists.
– Old Archery Range Improvements
 An initial phase of improvements to this 30-acre park parcel on the west side
of I-610 will include bayou bank stabilization, improved trails, and other
upgrades.
– Stormwater Management
 Stormwater management improvements will take place throughout the Park
and will include ravine and bank stabilization, and other erosion analysis and
mitigation efforts. Subsequent ecological resiliency will help retain
stormwater onsite and reduce erosion into Buffalo Bayou.
FUNDING
• The Kinder Foundation’s gift of $70 million served as a catalyst to secure over $50
million in funding from the Uptown Development Authority for public
infrastructure improvements and maintenance of Memorial Park.
• Memorial Park Conservancy continues to raise the remaining funds needed to
complete the Ten-Year Plan projects: a goal of $50 million by 2024, the 100th
anniversary of the founding of Memorial Park.
• The Ten-Year Plan has also benefitted from the support of the Houston
philanthropic community, including: Laura and John Arnold; The Brown
Foundation, Inc.; Clay Development & Construction, Inc.; The Cullen Foundation;
The Fondren Foundation; Wendy and Jeff Hines; Houston Endowment Inc.; Hobby
Family Foundation; Rochelle and Max Levit; Robert R. and Kay M. Onstead
Foundation; The Powell Foundation; The Wortham Foundation and other generous
foundations and individuals.