The Downtown Redevelopment Authority voted to approve a site for a new public park in Southern Downtown Houston. City Council approved the budget for the DRA to sign a ground lease with a renewal option on the property bounded by Bell, San Jacinto, Leeland and Fannin streets in Downtown Houston. The park will inhabit three-quarters of a block currently occupied by Goodyear Auto Service Center.

The park will be an amenity for the new wave of residents in the area. Since 2012, the Downtown Living Initiative has produced approximately 1,500 new residential units in Southern Downtown alone.

“This new Southern Downtown park space will serve as a backyard for nearby residents and a ‘third place’ that will anchor community life and foster experiences for Houstonians and visitors alike,” DRA President Bob Eury said.

This project supports one of the key recommendations of Plan Downtown, a 20-year vision plan for Downtown Houston released in November — a combination of new parks and retrofitted open spaces will anchor the new development clusters and emerging activity areas.

The DRA will engage the community for programming input in late spring of this year. A request for qualifications for the park design team will be released as well and construction is expected to begin in mid-2019, with an opening date set for summer 2020.