In a nutshell
The roughly 8.15-acre park—referred to as the East Hampton parkland—will be located at the northwest corner of East Hampton Circle and Kathy Avenue. Anthony Snipes, president of the Missouri City Parks Foundation, said the nonprofit's focus is on initiatives tied to green space and special events citywide.
The need for the park was identified by community feedback in 2019 as the city prepared for its 2021 parks master plan, said Daniele Stewart, interim director of the Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department.
“This one, especially for this neighborhood, was also highly ranked from our professional experience as well as from the community,” Stewart said. “They definitely voiced their need, and we agree it’s definitely a need.”
The master plan was used to prioritize projects for the $23.02 million parks proposition voters approved in November 2021. While the East Hampton parkland wasn’t able to get bond funding due to timing, Snipes said he didn’t want to wait five or 10 years for city funding to become available.
“We didn’t want what staff as well as [the] community felt was a high priority to be dismissed and thrown away to wait five years from now because, by that time, the kids are the ones that don’t get the benefit of the space,” Snipes said.
Digging deeper
Snipes said the Fondren Park and Fonmeadow have a combined 600 homes between them, and a majority of residents are African American or part of other minority groups. There's only two small pocket parks nearby: Gammill and McLain parks, which are 0.32 acres and 0.7 acres, respectively, according to the city website.
“Where you have double digital representation, ... we think it’s important having that melting pot in a park and [seeing] diversity at work," he said. "What better place to have that than an open space, a green space, which is what we have here.”
Project details
Stewart said the park will have numerous features upon completion, including:
- A walking trail around the park’s perimeter
- A multiuse green space for sports or other activities
- A splash pad
- Playgrounds
- A plaza area and pavilion
- Public art
- Parking and restrooms
The road project will be coupled with the park's first amenities—the walking trail and parking, Stewart said. Work should begin this fall and take up to nine months.
Project cost
So far, Missouri City has put more than $900,000 toward the project: $890,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding in February 2022 to purchase the land as well as roughly $25,000 to design the park and host public engagement sessions.
The parkland is also located in Harris County Precinct 1. While the Missouri City Parks Foundation reached out to county officials to develop a partnership, Snipes said officials said they’re focused on regional parks priorities.
“Eight acres—it’s not a regional park, but it’s definitely substantial. It will provide for more than just these immediate two neighborhoods,” Stewart said. “You’ve got [homes] kind of surrounding on all sides over here, so while it’s directly relevant for these communities here, it will be able to house most of this area.”
How to help
If corporations, foundations and individuals are unable to donate monetarily, Snipes said the parks foundation accepts other types of assistance, such as engineering and design or construction.
Those interested in donating can visit the Missouri City Parks Foundation website.
