The groundbreaking comes after Fort Bend County commissioners approved a nearly $4 million construction agreement with Construction Ltd. on Oct. 9 to build a new facility for the museum at Bates Allen Park, located at 630 Charlie Roberts Lane.
Zooming in
The museum, which opened in September 2017, will move to the 1.5-acre site with a two-story building totaling approximately 9,780 square feet, a large jump from its 900-square-foot Rosenberg location, according to its website.
Community Impact previously reported that the new site will feature:
- A showroom gallery for artwork and historical artifacts
- Outdoor dining and kitchen area
- 50 parking spaces
What they're saying
Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy said the Kendleton project sits on “sacred ground” in one of the region’s first freedmen’s towns.
“We’ve got to preserve this history so that people for generations to come know where these origins are,” McCoy said. “Now in a permanent location, right here, on this hallowed ground ... hundreds of thousands of people every year are going to come to this site. And that means great things for the entirety of our community and the identity of this space we call home.”
Diving in deeper
Ground was broken last September for the park's new African American Heritage Monument, a project also spearheaded by McCoy, Community Impact reported.
The memorial aims to acknowledge past injustices, restore human dignity and celebrate African Americans’ contributions to the county.
The first phase of the memorial project will include a:
- Juneteenth Freedom Plaza
- Three-story imposing monument, dedicated to notable African American historical figures
- Fragmented walkway
- Convict labor and leasing memorial, which will host 95 trees representing the Sugar Land 95
Future phases include the addition of a lynching reflection pond, McCoy said. Additionally, a learning center is also slated for Bates Allen Park.
What’s next?
Construction on the museum will start in December and is expected to take 14 months, McCoy’s Chief of Staff Ali Hasanali said.
Meanwhile, the heritage monument has nearly completed Phase 1, with trees representing the Sugar Land 95 to be planted in the spring. A second phase will improve trails and build a reflection pond, though no timeline has been set yet, Hasanali said.
