HOUSTON – The long-awaited “Missing Mile” in the Energy Corridor is now complete.
The Missing Mile is a newly finished stretch of Park Row, the major roadway that runs parallel to Interstate 10 in west Houston.
“The completion of Park Row not only represents a dramatic improvement in transportation in West Houston, but also highlights Houston’s can-do spirit,” said David S. Wolff, chairman and president of Wolff Companies. “This was a complex project that required collaboration among businesses, organizations and government agencies to boost economic activity and quality of life.”
Wolff, a longtime Houston developer credited with promoting the Energy Corridor as one of the nation’s best-known submarkets, noted the area is currently navigating a soft office market and an oversupply of sublease space following a steep decline in oil prices.
Park Row is a four-lane thoroughfare running parallel to the Katy Freeway (I-10). The newly completed segment now connects Dairy Ashford Road at I-10 to the City of Katy, providing a continuous route from the freeway to the Addicks Park and Ride. Construction began in 2013 and the road opened to traffic earlier this month. The addition gives commuters an important alternative to the Katy Freeway and expands public transportation and access for those who live, work and spend time in the Energy Corridor.
Park Row hosts major corporate headquarters such as ConocoPhillips, Worley Parsons and Mustang Wood Group. In recent years the corridor has also attracted prominent medical institutions. Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist own land along Park Row in Wolff Companies’ Ten Oaks project, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center owns land in Wolff Companies’ Central Park development.
To mark the road’s completion, Wolff Companies and the Energy Corridor District hosted a gathering of business leaders and community stakeholders to celebrate the Missing Mile.
“We invited leaders representing housing, offices, land development, retail and government,” said Carolyn Wolff Dorros, executive vice president of Wolff Companies. “These individuals reflect a larger group who have worked together to build West Houston and will continue collaborating to support its growth and success.”
The panel discussion, moderated by David Wolff, included William Burge, president of Ayrshire Corp. and chairman of the Grand Parkway Association; Larry Johnson, president of Johnson Development; Matt Khourie, CEO of Trammell Crow; auto dealer Carl Sewell; and Jon Lindsay, former Harris County judge.
“The evolution of quality in West Houston is noteworthy,” said Matt Khourie of Trammell Crow. “Developers along I-10 have raised their standards with projects built to last. Continued investment in schools and healthcare will drive future growth.”
Asked what West Houston might look like in 25 to 50 years, William Burge jokingly replied, “We’ll be in San Antonio by then, but you will still see the initial footprint laid out by developers like David Wolff and many others who arrived when there was little more than rice fields.”
The original segment of Park Row was developed in the 1970s by Wolff in the Park Ten area, where he anticipated the need for an alternative to the Katy Freeway.
The recently completed section included design and construction of Park Row from the I-10 HOV/Tollroad access ramp at the Addicks Park & Ride to the road’s existing end just west of North Eldridge Parkway; a four-lane bridge over Langham Creek; and new water, sanitary sewer and stormwater drainage systems, along with street lighting and landscaping. The two-phase project was completed through a public-private partnership between the Energy Corridor Management District and the City of Houston.
Now in its fifth decade, Wolff Companies has developed several master-planned, mixed-use business communities around Houston, including Beltway, Park Ten, Interwood, Westway Park, First Crossing, Ten Oaks at the Texas Medical Center–West Campus and Central Park.
April 17, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017