The big picture
Nancy Mikeska, deputy city administrator and community development director, told council the Technology Park—purchased in 2008 and opened in 2013—“struggled all along,” in part because airport-related height limits made it harder to attract the kinds of high-tech businesses the city originally envisioned. The Technology Park was intended to attract technology business headquarters.
Mikeska also pointed to visible deterioration in the existing park space, telling council “the ponds don’t work ... the fountains don’t work,” and calling the green water “mosquito havens.”
She said the city has sold only one tract since 2013 and now wants to protect part of the wooded property for a community-serving use.
Under the framework Mikeska presented, the city would reserve 21 acres for the park concept plus another roughly 20 acres for parking and future growth, while leaving about 163 acres available for other development.
What’s proposed
Mikeska framed the concept as “some type of venue” and pointed to models like Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and Houston’s Discovery Green. Plans discussed with council included amphitheaters, special events and movie nights, trails, a man-made lake, a splash pad, a food truck area and a dog park. Mikeska stressed that council’s action only signals support, not final approval or funding.
“Nothing is being approved tonight, other than your support,” Mikeska said. “This would be coming from [Conroe Industrial Development Corp.]. The CIDC would have to approve it, but I don't like to take anything to CIDC that the council has not seen first, so that's why it's here tonight. If you're not supportive of it, it probably shouldn't go anywhere else.”
Mayor Duke Coon questioned the timing and warned council the proposal could become “a slippery slope,” adding, “There is no parking out there for this facility,” and urging the city to focus on making the Technology Park “viable.”
Mikeska responded that council’s action “means that you support the idea,” and said early doubts also surrounded Discovery Green: “That could have been more wrong.”
What they’re saying
Council members in support of reserving the land framed the concept as a potential spark for investment.
“I think the benefit to something like this is showing the concept, showing the dream,” council member Shana Arthur said, calling it an incentive that could make companies “more interested.”
Mayor Pro Tem Howard Wood cautioned against locking up land too early.
"Until we have a more definitive plan, pricing, design, work in place ... my concern about doing it right now [is] being premature,” he said, adding the city could “alienate the land from a potential sale.”
Other council members believed reserving the land while it’s still available is in the best interest of the city.
“If we don't reserve some land for some things, the land won't be there,” council member Marsha Porter said. “And we haven't sold any land there since 2013, so we're not exactly setting the world on fire.”
Next steps
Council approved the resolution to reserve the land 4-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Howard Wood voting against. The concept now moves to Conroe Industrial Development Corp. for further consideration.
