The Woodlands Township board members approved funding for a new art structure to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the township as well as the first phase of its planned Alden Bridge Sports Park renovations.

The overview

A "First Fifty" anniversary sculpture has been proposed to be placed in the roadway median at the intersection of Woodlands Parkway and Grogans Mill Road, according to the board meeting agenda.

The sculpture will pay homage to the eight villages in The Woodlands.

“The first place concrete that was poured in The Woodlands was right at this intersection, kind of heading back toward the I-45 corridor there. So it's very significant in terms of the first 50 years of The Woodlands,” said Jonathan McMillan, architect for LANDology Inc., which will construct the piece.


The anticipated cost of the project is $1.2 million, with funding coming from the following sources:
  • $350,000 from the township’s Cultural Projects Reserve
  • $250,000 pledged from Town Center’s Owners Association
  • $450,000 from Howard Hughes and its partners
“It’s coming from the Cultural Projects Reserve that is funded by the township’s portion of a 5% tax that is collected at all pavilion tickets,” township President and CEO Monique Sharp said.

What else

The renovations at Alden Bridge Sports Park are estimated to cost $17.8 million, with Phase 1 set to cost $9.8 million. The following enhancements are proposed for Phase 1:
  • 224 additional parking spaces
  • Restroom for the multipurpose field
  • A second ingress/egress to the park
  • For Field 3, conversion of a small grass field to the park's “championship field” with all-weather turf and bleachers/scoreboard
  • A new grass field located south of Field 1 and Field 2
  • A new full-sized grass field located south of the softball/baseball fields
  • Additional site amenities, including a playground, bleachers, awnings, etc., if funding permits
Phase 1 also includes a traffic light through the Texas Department of Transportation, officials said.

“We talked about working with TxDOT, [and] they are adding a traffic light there that was not previously there in the neighborhood. We have permits with TxDOT for our driveway proposal already approved,” Park and Recreation Director John McGowan said.


What’s next?

The project timeline for Phase 1 of the renovations at Alden Bridge Sports Park is scheduled as follows:
  • Oct. 21, 2024: Board review of infrastructure consulting firm Halff's engineering and construction administration proposal
  • February 2025: Engineering/construction document development
  • March 2025: Board review/approval of bid posting
  • May 2025: Board review/approval of bid award
  • July 2025-March 2026: Construction
  • April 2026: Substantial completion
The sculpture is planned to begin construction at the start of 2025.

The next township meeting will be Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. at the Township Town Hall building, located at 2801 Technology Forest Blvd., The Woodlands.