More than 10 months after its last update to Bellaire City Council, the project committee for “We Are Evergreen” has completed the community input stage of its Evergreen Park redevelopment project.
The project aims to revitalize one of the city’s most historic parks with an all-abilities playground, renovated pool complex, flexible-use green spaces and other upgrades, according to the committee’s website.
Explained
Committee co-chair Brad Mills presented the update to Bellaire officials at a Sept. 14 session.
The group, consisting of long-time community residents and leaders, was formed in September 2024 around the same time that discussions surrounding future visions for Evergreen Park and its pool complex began.
The redevelopment project gained momentum in 2025 when it was adopted as part of the city’s fiscal year 2026-28 strategic plan and achieved several milestones throughout the year, including raising nearly $700,000 in proceeds, as previously reported.
In November 2025, two design concepts for Evergreen Park were unveiled at an open house event, at which residents were invited to give feedback in a public survey. Prior reporting from Community Impact indicates that the City Council was expected to vote on and potentially approve the park's final conceptual design in January 2026.
However, after re-evaluating the committee’s long-term mission to create a community-informed vision for Evergreen Park’s enhancements, Mills said the group sought to collect and assess as much feedback as possible from community residents before making any final decisions.
“For the past year… we’ve gone out into the community gathering input on the conceptual designs before we take any actions going forward,” Mills said during the presentation. “We’re gathering all that in and taking that to heart before we take any actions overturning dirt or raising the first dollar.”
Latest update
At the Sept. 14 meeting, Mills told the council that the committee’s initial community input stage is now complete, allowing members to begin development of the conceptual plan going into October.
The community input stage included:
Gathering more than 600 survey responses from the community
Hosting focus groups, workshops and neighborhood/public meetings
Facilitating conversations with residents and park users either online or in person
Reviewing prior park redevelopment plans and historical feedback
Maintaining ongoing coordination with city staff and Bellaire’s Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department
Information from the meeting presentation revealed that the committee’s next steps will target the redevelopment’s “conceptual alignment.” This includes hosting a workshop with City Council where all of the collected data and changes to the park’s former conceptual designs can be reviewed, in addition to directly addressing the community’s concerns through dedicated dialogue.
Mills said the committee hopes to schedule the workshop sometime between October and November. After this, We Are Evergreen will present its recommended conceptual plan to council members and confirm its plans for phasing.
The setup
As opposed to renovating the entirety of Evergreen Park all at once, the committee seeks to implement the future upgrades one by one in specific phases.
Although phasing plans are still subject to change, phase one is currently slated to renovate the northeast quadrant of the park, also known as the playground, before developers begin working their way through phase two.
Phase three is under consideration to tackle Evergreen Park’s pool complex, according to the presentation.
The future
Once the conceptual plan is approved by the council, Mills said that the committee’s final fine-tuning efforts will be directed toward polishing the plan’s scope and sorting out preliminary cost assumptions with the city.
We Are Evergreen will also:
Develop a phased fundraising packet
Identify naming opportunities for various park amenities and facilities
Examine potential contracts
Provide definitions for grants and potential private donations that will be available within the community
Completion of these tasks will support the advancement and implementation of the park’s improved professional design, which remains pending under future council approvals and available funding.
Something to note
Mills clarified during the session that while the conceptual alignment stage will establish the committee’s direction in highlighting areas of improvement for Evergreen Park, it will not constitute the park’s final design. Many of the upcoming decisions will be left up to the council and determined by available resources.
“It’s not locked down where we’re definitely going to build and when we’re going to build. It does not give us construction authorization. It does not give us funding approval,” Mills said. “What we’re asking of council is simply conceptual alignment—that we have alignment around the concept, where we want to have the major building blocks and we have addressed the concerns of the community.”
The big picture
As We Are Evergreen continues to take steps toward breaking ground on the project, Mills told Bellaire officials that the committee intends to host additional community engagement events for residents as council direction is received to keep them informed.
“I was really heartened to see crowds of families back at Evergreen pool. We just don’t have it enough anymore,” Mills said in reference to one of the city’s most recent family-oriented events. “And that is the fundamental goal we have: to bring the families back to Evergreen Park and Evergreen Pool.”
