Houston City Council Gives Park Eight Place Walkable Places Designation
The City of Houston has awarded its first developer-initiated Walkable Places designation to Park Eight Place, a new 70-acre mixed-use development in the Westchase District that is centered on healthier lifestyles.
The city launched the Walkable Places program in 2020 to promote walkability, biking and transit use through architectural design standards that create pedestrian-friendly environments.
Located at Bellaire Boulevard and Beltway 8, Park Eight Place will feature wider sidewalks, engaging storefronts, comfortable planting buffers and permeability to the street that will help promote safe and walkable access throughout the project.
“This designation recognizes efforts of developers to put the pedestrian experience first and foremost, allowing for safer movement on foot, easy entry into buildings and more spaces to gather organically,” said Houston City Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas, District F. “These developments, such as Park Eight Place, are designed to become destinations where people can live, work and play with all of life’s conveniences just a short walk away.”
The vision for Park Eight Place is to be a thriving urban village that embodies health and convenience while fostering social gathering and innovation to make it a healthier place for people to come together.
“We are developing Park Eight Place as a defined walkable place because it’s the right thing to do,” said Charles Lusk, General Manager of Park Eight Place. “It’s intended to benefit people who desire being outdoors and want more exercise — even in an urban setting — and it will create a framework to support local businesses that allows people to easily stop into those businesses. Additionally, companies located here will have the conveniences their employees desire all within a five-minute walk. And those are just some of the benefits.”
Walking is known to have a multitude of health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular brisk walking can help prevent or manage heart disease and type 2 diabetes, strengthen bones, increase energy levels, improve mood and cognition, strengthen your immune system and reduce stress and tension. In addition, Harvard Health Publishing — part of Harvard Medical School — reports that women who walk seven or more hours per week lower their risk of breast cancer 14 percent. Walking five to six miles a week can not only reduce arthritis-related pain but can prevent arthritis from forming.
Park Eight Place will further encourage healthier living by connecting to the adjacent 200-acre Arthur Storey Park and creating a destination along the Brays Bayou Greenway Trail that links Katy to downtown Houston and beyond.
“We envision residents of Park Eight Place to be able to ride the METRO with their bikes to work at the Medical Center and then bike home along the trail,” Lusk said.
Park Eight Place will be a mix of eclectic culinary options, cultural and entertainment options that reflect Houston’s global tastes at a human scale.
Helping to bring Park Eight Place to life are Gensler, a global design, architecture and urban planning firm; TBG Partners, a leader in landscape architecture, urban design and placemaking; BGE (formerly known as Brown and Gay Engineers), one of the largest civil engineering firms in Houston; and many other leading experts for sustainability, community resiliency, energy and carbon reduction efforts. Work on infrastructure is set to begin later this year.