The East Montgomery County Improvement District held a community meeting May 26 to gather ideas for a 200-acre plot of land in New Caney, which will include a park.
About the project
EMCID leaders are collecting input on Phase 2, which is slated to become a roughly 64-acre park, EMCID President and CEO Frank McCrady said during the May 26 meeting. Ideas for EMCID's park include gardens, playgrounds, and walking and biking trails, but details are not finalized.
“We hope to keep [the park] natural as much as possible, because that's why we got the land,” EMCID Chief Operating Officer Kelley Mattlage said during the meeting. “It is flood property. So what do you do with that? You build a park. You don't develop it, and ... as we grow, we need to keep the green space.”
The park is slated to be located along FM 1485 near the road’s intersection with Gene Campbell Road in New Caney.
Public input
EMCID is gathering community input for the park ahead of filing an application with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for a grant, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“We want to make sure that we capture your wants and desires for the community in the future. ... And as we grow and expand and do more things, we want to make sure that we understand the things that you want and how you want our community to grow,” McCrady said.
Suggestions for the land from the community included:
- A skate park
- Features to make the park accessible for wheelchair users and people with disabilities
- A community garden
- A splash pad
- Covered picnic areas
- Pickleball courts
About 70 community members attended the May 26 meeting, Mattlage said via email May 26.
Community members can still submit feedback to EMCID via email, Facebook or the website, McCrady said.
Other projects
McCrady said a 3-4-acre pump track—an obstacle course for bikes—is planned for part of EMCID’s 200 acres off FM 1485. He said this feature was selected since similar amenities are not offered within 20 miles of the area, and grant funds are available for that type of project.
Also included in EMCID's 200-acre land is a roughly 4-acre dog park, which has been under construction since April 2025, as previously reported. The project has been delayed due to changes to the original project plans, and a new opening date has not yet been announced.
Mattlage said another plot of land located off Hwy. 242 in New Caney was purchased by EMCID to eventually be turned into another potential park.
