Current Status

The acquisition of West 11^th Street Park is a wonderful story of cooperation among numerous community leaders and local government entities, and the utilization of a truly creative purchasing strategy. Without the tremendous effort and vision of these local leaders, the procurement of this park would not be possible.

John Whitmire	Texas State Senator for the 15^th senatorial district
Peter Smith	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Bill White	Mayor, City of Houston
Toni Lawrence	Council Member, District A
Harvin Moore	Trustee, District VII Houston Independent School District
Joe Turner	Director, Houston Parks and Recreation Department
Roksan Okan-Vick	Executive Director, Houston Parks Board
Lorraine Cherry	Friends of West 11^th Street Park
R. G. Musgrove	Friends of West 11^th Street Park/ Rotary Club of Houston Heights

How the West 11^th Street Park was saved

For over 50 years, the West 11th Street property served as a de facto park for the community. Owned by HISD and leased to the City of Houston Parks Department, the property was deemed surplus in 2005 and released for sale. The Houston Parks Board negotiated a $9 million sales price for park purposes. Mayor White agreed to provide $4 million in public funds to purchase the property with the understanding that the private sector would raise the remainder. Despite aggressive fundraising by the Houston Parks Board and by the community, there was still a $3.5 million shortfall at the time that the “option to purchase” contract was set to expire in January 2007.

Because this property acquisition was believed to be critical, and for the first time in its history, the Houston Parks Board took out a bridge loan in order to complete the purchase from HISD, using five acres of the property as collateral. This contingency plan accomplished two important goals: the entire 20 acres would move from HISD ownership to the City of Houston “on time” at closing; and the neighborhood was guaranteed a minimum of a 15.2-acre park. In February of 2007, the land was purchased by the City of Houston, and five acres on the southwest corner was in fact used as collateral for a loan of $3.7 million.

In the fall of 2007, thanks to the efforts of Senator John Whitmire, a $3.75 million matching grant was allocated in the Texas Legislature to fund the remaining 5-acres of West 11th Street Park. The Houston Parks Board and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department worked with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to complete the allocation to pay off the loan and transfer the remaining 5-acres to the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department in February, 2008. The park was officially dedicated on February 21, 2008.

Strategic partners in the acquisition: Major donors

$4,000,000
The City of Houston/Mayor Bill White

$3,750,000
State of Texas/Texas Parks & Wildlife/Senator John Whitmire

$500,000 - $999,999
Cullinan Estate (Houston Parks Board Fund)
Houston Endowment Inc.

$100,000 - $299,999
Bob J. Perry

$50,000- $99,999
Shell Oil Company

$25,000- $49,999
McGinnis& Bettie Clark Foundation
M. B. Dorbandt-Maher

$10,000- $24,999
The Powell Foundation
Timbergrove Manor Civic Association

$5,000 - $9,999
Norman Adams
EOG Resources Inc.
Friends of West 11^th Street Park
Jim Cunningham Design
Sara and John Lindsey
Terrence Malloy
The Peterson Charitable Trust
Russell Pitman
Rita and Michael Richbourg
Susan Vaughan Foundation

Date of last edit: 03 Jun 2008

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How the West 11th Street Park was saved

How the West 11^th Street Park was saved