LEVY PARK TOUR | SATURDAY, MAY 6
9:30 am Refreshments | 10:00 am -11:00 am Tour and Discussions
Women in Architecture Houston members, friends and family are invited to Levy Park for a tour of the 5.5 acre park's recent transformation. Representatives from the design and development team will lead the tour and discussions including: Architect Natalye Appel of Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, Doug Overman from the Levy Park Conservancy, and Rachel Wilkins of the Office of James Burnett.
Starting at 9:30a, coffee and snacks, generously provided by Eureka Lighting, will be available at the Pavilion. The tour will begin at 10:00 am.
Special thanks to the Levy Park Conservancy, Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, the OJB Landscape Architecture, and the Upper Kirby District for their support of the tour and WiA.
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The Levy Park revitalization would not have been possible without the help of tax reinvestment zone (TIRZ) funds, a public-private partnership, and a non-profit conservancy. Last July, Molly Glentzer of the Houston Chronicle described the unique development process that brought about the $15 million dollar renovations and how the park would be financially supported:
"Levy Park will be supported mostly by funds from a 99-year ground lease on adjacent mixed-use commercial development. While the city owns the park, the (Kirby Redevelopment) authority owns the surrounding acreage where Midway Companies has nearly completed the first phase of its KirbyGrove development: Avenue Grove, a 270-unit luxury midrise apartment building, hugs the park's southwest corner, while the 15-story One Grove Street office building anchors the northeast corner, with ground-level restaurant space facing the park."
Within the park, a central pavilion, designed by Houston firm Natalye Appel and Associates, is large enough for symphony productions while housing the restrooms and Conservancy offices. Natalye's office also designed the playful elevated boardwalk that engages the live oak canopy. The district hired the Office of James Burnett to re-imagine the landscape.
The full Chron article can be found here:
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Levy-Park-transformation-gives-Upper-Kirby-new-8414921.php?cmpid=btfpm
