Conversion of golf course to botanical garden to start

Work will begin within months on the first phase of converting Houston’s Glenbrook Golf Course into what the nonprofit Houston Botanic Garden hopes will be a marquee destination for visitors and residents.

Golf operations will cease at Glenbrook on April 1, Mayor Sylvester Turner said, in announcing Wednesday that the botanic garden group had met its commitment in its contract with the city to raise at least $20 million by the end of 2017.

Glenbrook is not the only eastside green space undergoing renovations. Backers of the new garden originally wanted to build it on another city-owned golf course, Wortham.

Ultimately, the council agreed to let the nonprofit Houston Golf Association renovate and run Wortham Golf Course and to let the garden boosters build at Glenbrook.

Renovations at Wortham were delayed by Hurricane Harvey, Councilman Robert Gallegos said, but the course now is expected to reopen in June.

“The Houston Botanic Garden is a long-term investment in Houston tourism, creating a beloved destination and sustainable space for Houston to enjoy for generations to come,” the mayor said.

Gallegos, whose eastside district includes both sites, said he plans to host a public meeting March 22 to discuss the transition of Glenbrook from golf course to gardens.

“There’s over $55 million in private money coming into District I to refurbish two green spaces — two green spaces the city did not have the funds to refurbish,” he said. “I’m excited.”

Educational programming could start as early as this summer at the botanic garden site, and volunteer opportunities will begin in April and continue throughout the garden’s development into what could ultimately be a $40 million facility.

The garden’s first phase is scheduled to open in late 2020.