7/30/2019 Houston Downtown Management District, Market Square Park

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arketSquare's

storied

past

reflects

Houston's

own

boom,

bust

and

boom

again

history.

The

HistoricDistrictisHouston'soriginaltowncenter.ItswheretheAllenbrotherslanded,determined

tocreatethecityofthefuturein1836.JusttwoblocksfromAllen'sLandingatMarketSquare

(originallynamedCongressSquare),theylocatedtheciviccenterofthenewcity,andfor100yearsitserved

asahometofourCityHallsaswellasabuzzingopenairproduceandfishmarket.

M

MarketSquareburnedthroughthreeCityHallbuildings,withfiresin1876,1901and1960,whenthespace

finallysettledasaparkinglotforHoustonsthrivingnightlifescene. TheJuniorLeagueofHouston

campaignedforthespacesrevivalinthemid70s,turningtheparkinglotintoagreenspace.Notlongafter,

inthelate1980s,theartnonprofit,DiverseWorkscoordinatedarenovationofMarketSquarePark,planting

localartistsworkthroughoutthespace.Unfortunately,bothdesignswerenotconsideredsuccessfulandthe

parkwasinfrequentlyused.

HoustonDowntownManagementDistrict(DowntownDistrict),DowntownRedevelopmentAuthority/TIRZ#3andtheCityofHoustonParksandRecreationDepartmentredevelopedMarketSquareParkinAugust2010,afterlendingtheirearstodowntownresidents,businessandpropertyowners. Withthese

stakeholdersinmind,theparkhasbeentransformedintoadestinationforresidentsandvisitorsalike,while

preservingtheparkshistoricalandartisticroots.

ProjectforPublicSpaceswasbroughtonboardearlyintheprocesstoleadtheprogrammingphasethroughaseriesoftownhallmeetings,focusgroupsandonsiteevaluations. Theendproductwasarecommended

concept,communityconsensusandthefoundationforthenextlevelofdesign. Fundstoredevelopthepark

wereearmarkedintheDowntownRedevelopmentAuthority/TIRZ#3budget.TheCityscommitmentto

creatingafocalpointfortheHistoricDistrictandasenseofcommunitybyfundingtheentiretyoftheproject

iswhat

allowed

the

project

to

move

forward.

Additional

funding

came

from

the

Lauren

Catuzzi

Grandcolas

FoundationtosupportthebuildingandmaintenanceofLaurensGardenlocatedinthepark. Theparks

design/buildphasewasmanagedbytheDowntownDistrict.

ThegoalsfortheredesignedMarketSquareParkweretoacknowledgethehistoryofthesite;toprovidean

active,urbangreenspaceadaptedtotheneedsofadiverseneighborhood;andtoconserveitsexisting

artworkwhileincorporatingnewworksofart.

Today,avisitorcanfollowablackgranitebandthroughtheparkforatouraroundthefootprintoftheold

CityHallsfoundation.Arectangularlawnsitsatthefoundationscenter,andtheparkcafeandJamesSurls

largesculpturePointsofViewoccupythespaceswherethebuildingstowersoncestoodwhileframingthepresentdaydiningtrellis,performancestageandplaza.Onthewestsideofthelawn,acrescentshapeddog

runprovidesawelcomingplaceforthecaninecontingenttoplayoffleash.LaurensGarden,aspacededicatedtothememoryofallwhowerelostonSeptember11,2001,isnamedforLaurenCatuzzi

Grandcolas,aHoustonianandpassengeraboardUnitedFlight93.Offeringarespiteformeditationand

remembrance,thistributegardenofseasonalplantings,floweringtrees,plazaandfountainisagifttothe

cityfromtheLaurenCatuzziGrandcolasFoundation.

MuchofMarketSquaresartcollectionwasfeaturedintheparkspreviousdesigncoordinatedby

DiverseWorksin1991,withtheunifiedmessageofembracingourcityshistory.TheseworksbyRichard

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Turner,PaulHester,JamesSurlsandMalouFlatoarepreservedorreconfiguredinthecurrentdesign.Newly

commissionedartworkincludessculpturesbyKetriaBastianScottandSharonConnallyAmmanninLaurens

GardenandJamesPhillipscarvedpupnearthedogrun.MalouFlatosbenchesonTraviswererepositioned

tocreateanopengateway,buildingaconnectionbetweentheparkandretailestablishmentsinhistoric

buildingsacrossthestreet.

Tocreate

atruly

diverse

park

that

can

accommodate

agrowing

and

diverse

community,

many

great

minds

cametogether.LaurenGriffithAssociates,aHoustonbasedlandscapearchitect,ledthedesignand KerryGoelzer,Ray+HollingtonArchitectsandTribble&Stephensallconsultedontheprojectanddesignedaparkthatwasinkeepingwithhistoryandembracingofthefuture.

SincetheGrandReopeningNeighborhoodShindigonAugust28,2010,MarketSquareParkhas

overwhelminglybeenembracedbytheneighborhood. Itisthepeoplespark. Withbuiltin,everyday

programmingelementssuchasdogrunsandasmallandbustlingcaf,aswellasspecialeventprogramming

thatfocusonthedowntownandneardowntownresidentialcommunity,thereisalwayssomethingtodo.

ThecafoperatorwasselectedthroughaRequestforProposal(RFP)processwhichincludedanindepth

interview. NikoNikosisoneof,ifnotthe,mostpopularGreekrestaurantsinHoustonwithalineoutthe

door24/7.

The

owners

dedication,

enthusiasm

and

leadership

has

been

instrumental

in

driving

new

traffic

totheparkandcreatingagatheringspaceforpeopletoeat,meetandsocialize.

Thekeytotheparkseventplanningispartnerships.Thisenablestheparktoleverageeventsthrougha

collaborativeplanning,budgetingandcomarketingapproach.Eventsincludeconcertseries(springandfall)

whichareapartnershipwithoneoftheoldestrecordingstudiosinthecountry,SugarhillStudios,andis

sponsoredbylocalrealestatebrokeragefirmHeritageTexasProperties;andoutdoormoviessponsoredby

AlamoDrafthouseRollingRoadshow. Monthlyfreedogtrainingseminars,organizedbikeridesandhistoric

andarchitecturaltoursalsotakeplaceatthepark. Specialeventsaredesignedtodrivetraffictonotonlythe

park,butalsothesurroundingbusinessesandincludetheannualSaintArnoldPubCrawlinJuneandANight

atMarketSquareinOctober.

Thesuccess

of

Market

Square

Park

is

measured

by

monitoring

the

everyday

traffic

in

the

park,

the

hundreds

ofvisitorswhoattendconcerts,moviesandothereventsandthetremendoussuccessofthecafoperator,

NikoNikos(NikoNikossurpassedtheirannualgrossrevenueprojectioninmonthfiveofthisyear).Project

forPublicSpacesincludesMarketSquareParkontheirWallofFame(formerlytheparkwasontheirWallof

Shame!)asacasestudyforotherparkredevelopmentprojects.Lastly,morethan$1.5millionofpublic

relationshasbeengeneratedinthepastyearforMarketSquarePark.

TheongoingoperatingbudgetissupportedbyfundingfromtheDowntownDistrictaswellasfromcaf

revenue(percentageofgrossrevenuecomestotheDowntownDistrict),LaurenGrandcolasCatuzzi

Foundationandsponsorships. TheDowntownDistricthasaninterlocalagreementwiththeCityofHouston

tooperateandmanagethepark.

MarketSquare

Parks

redesign

has

been

acentral

component

of

an

ongoing

development

program

focused

onfresheningandenhancingHoustonsHistoricDistrict. Thenumerousactivitiesandfeaturesofthepark

returnthesitetoitshistoricallyheldstatusasagreatcivicspaceindowntownHouston.