Discovering All The Buffalo Bayou Has To Offer
Anonprofit organization, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership was formed 30 years ago with a mission to transform Houston’s most historic waterway. Anne Olson, president of the Partnership, shared more information about everything they have to offer with Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty president, Robin Conner.
“We focus on park development [and] hike and bike trail construction,” says Anne Olson. “We do a lot of planning work with the city and the county, and then we host many, many events.”
Exploring the wonders of Buffalo Bayou Park
The Partnership’s most recent and notable project is Buffalo Bayou Park — easily one of Houston’s greatest treasures — a massive $58 million undertaking that was made possible by a $30 million catalyst gift from the Kinder Foundation.
Stretching 2.3 miles in length across
160 acres, Buffalo Bayou Park consists of beautiful meadows, wildflower prairie areas, a cherished dog park, and even a skate park. There are two visitor centers to welcome people while also providing bike rentals, trail maps, and bottled water, as well as host a variety of musical events.
Constantly adding to the dense greenery, the park recently brought in another 14,000 native trees, which is impressive by any standard. “People are always amazed at how heavily forested this area is,” Olson says.
“It also has some sites that are really secrets.”
One of these is “Green Tree,” which is at the corner of Waugh Drive and Memorial. If you walk in there, it’s a mulch trail with several bayou tributaries. “It’s really a gem,” Olson adds.
For hike and bike trails, the park was designed with two in mind — a 10-foot wide multi-use concrete trail for everyone and also a 5-foot asphalt path, which is strictly for walkers and joggers.
Even though Conner herself is a native Houstonian, she was overwhelmed to learn about all the Buffalo Bayou Partnership gives its neighboring residents.
“It’s amazing [how] that land and the waterway has been preserved all this time to allow for those 160 acres to be utilized the way you have revitalized it over the years,” Conner says.
Plans to look forward to
In addition to Buffalo Bayou Park, the Partnership oversees the Sabine Promenade, east of the Waterworks Visitor’s Center. Also, Allen’s Landing Park is another, and there are also some really cool trails along this sector that go under several city streets.
“In addition to those current trails, right now we are working on another trail,” Olson says. “There is absolutely no land east of Allen’s Landing. In order to get the trail through, we’re actually going through the bottom of two Harris County buildings. People will love it. It’s a very industrial space.”
There is also a multitude of residential development taking place along Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive. Several of the projects have even been titled to include Buffalo Bayou in their name.
“Believe it or not, there is about to be $2 billion worth of development,” Olson says. “All of these developers will tell you they chose these sites because of Buffalo Bayou Park. We’re really, really proud of that.”
Houston: a diverse international hub
“With all that development, we have seen so many buyers coming in from national and international locations,” says Robin Conner.
“Houston has so many things in its favor that we are bringing new buyers into our town every day. I always tell people I walk the trails in Buffalo Bayou Park every weekend, and I hear languages being spoken that I can’t even understand. We have visitors come from all over the world. We really feel we’re contributing greatly to Houston’s quality of life”, Olson says.
One thing is certain — all of these future plans will impact the community surrounding them in a positive way.
“Everybody has heard us say that we sell lifestyles,” Conner states, “and this is just such an incredible offering to the lifestyles and those communities around them.
I hope that everybody in the next couple of months will take the time to enjoy this amazing Partnership.”
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