Welp.
The City Council voted Wednesday to close Polk Street for the $2 billion expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center — an early step in a 15-year plan Houston First says will “redefine” downtown, and critics say will cut a vital East End connection without enough transparency or traffic mitigation.
Under the measure approved by council, Houston First will purchase several downtown street segments, including portions of Polk, Chenevert, Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and Bell streets, as well as part of Avenida de las Americas, for incorporation into the convention center campus. The formal sale and abandonment of streets will return to Council after appraisals, easement relocations and a finalized traffic impact analysis are complete.
Council voted 14-1, with Council Member Edward Pollard being the lone vote against it.
Houston First CEO Michael Heckman told council the expansion will be “nothing like it in the United States.” He said the project will generate a $20 billion economic impact over 30 years and emphasized that no general-fund dollars will be used.
District I Council Member Joaquin Martinez, who represents parts of downtown and the East End and delayed the item last week, ultimately supported the motion but added a Memorandum of Understanding among the city, Houston First and Houston Public Works. The agreement outlines commitments to expand community engagement, communication and mobility planning around the project.
Under the memorandum, the city and Houston First are supposed to:
- Establish bilingual public engagement throughout the GRB expansion construction period.
- Create a 13-member community advisory board, appointed by the District I, H and D council members, composed of area stakeholders and residents from the east side of downtown, to help plan the GRB’s east entryway and other public spaces tied to the expansion. The group will meet quarterly.
- Work with TxDOT and local groups to evaluate converting Leeland Street into a two-way corridor with pedestrian access as an alternative to Polk.
- Ensure safe pedestrian access on Polk Street for at least one year following closure.
- Make new public spaces available six days a year, free of charge, to local nonprofits for community events.
Community group People for Polk, which has led opposition to the street closure, said it was not briefed on the memorandum before the vote.
“Despite the vote being on the schedule for today, the City has not shared the memorandum with us at this time, less than an hour before the vote is scheduled,” the group said in a statement. “Neither People for Polk nor the Houston community have seen a budget for the GRB expansion, the appraisal of value for our lost public streets, or how Houston First is planning to amend the TxDOT plan.”
Martinez said the memorandum includes many of the residents’ requests.
“Passing this item is not the end,” Martinez said. “It’s only the beginning, and this MOU serves as a preview of many of the benefits that will come from this project.”
Several council members supported the street closure but criticized the process.
“You can reach the right result, but if a bad process was followed, then people end up with hard feelings and feel that real engagement did not occur. They weren’t seen, they weren’t listened to, they weren’t heard. And I think that unfortunately is what we have here,” said Council Member Julian Ramirez.
Ramirez asked Heckman if Houston First would explore additional streets besides Leeland for two-way conversions; Heckman replied, “Absolutely.”
See here for the most recent update. I like the idea of updating and expanding the George R. Brown Convention Center. I think it’s an important asset for the city and it’s one we need to keep competitive with other cities. I’m unclear on the finances of this deal, I’m concerned what traffic is going to look like in that area post-Polk closure, and I don’t think the residents of the affected area got sufficiently heard. I hope it goes better from here, because it’s going to affect a whole lot of us. CultureMap and Emily Takes Notes have more.