About the project
The center serves as a community and cultural hub for the Shia Ismaili Muslim community as a place of prayer, social gathering, culture and intellectual pursuits. There are six other Ismaili Centers constructed around the world, but the 11-acre campus in the heart of the Montrose neighborhood is the first to open in the U.S.
The site boasts over 9 acres of gardens and courtyards and a 150,000-square-foot, five-story building, which includes a prayer room, several conference centers, a black box theatre, art exhibitions, children's classrooms, an atrium and a cafe.
It is located along Allen Parkway and overlooks Buffalo Bayou Park.
During a media preview event Nov. 5, officials with the center said Houston was chosen as the site for the first location in the United States due to its diversity and its large presence of Ismailis. According to the Ismaili Council for the Southwestern U.S., the population in Houston lies between 35,000 to 40,000.
However, despite its affiliation with the Shia Muslim sect, Omar Samji, a spokesperson for the Ismaili Center, Houston, said he and all partners of the project hope the space will serve as a cultural and community hub for residents in and around Houston from all walks of life and religions.
"We want to engage with people of every faith, and people of no faith," he said. "This is a space that is meant to do that. The notion of using spaces to bring to life an ethos of both service and outward engagement in a truly welcoming way is something that is core to the Ismaili effort to be a part of the American society."
The local impact
The center will be open to the public, with meeting spaces, the courtyard, gardens and black box theatre available for residents to book for events or use freely. Samji said there will be no fee for public entrance to the building, and two gates are anticipated to be open for the public to access the north gardens from the Buffalo Bayou trails.
Project officials said while the building is complete, and the majority of the gardens and landscape, future phases of the project that are still in the process include installing a pickleball court, basketball park and playground.
While hours for access to the center are still undetermined, an official welcoming event and grand opening are slated for Dec. 12-13.
