Edgewood Park is an 11-acre site in south Houston. One of Houston’s oldest parks, it was acquired by the city in 1953 and was up for renovations under a private–public “complete communities” initiative put in place by the late Sylvester Turner during his term as mayor whereby corporations, communities and the city worked together to update parks and green spaces in under-resourced communities. Improvements were also funded under the city’s flood-resiliency construction plans as well as grants from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Working closely with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, M2L Associates initially prepared a comprehensive master plan that included renovation of the park grounds and the existing community center.  In the first phase, M2L designed a comprehensive playground renovation that included a splash pad, playground, exercise station and site trails.

In the second phase, M2L partnered with civil engineering and consulting firm HR Green to develop site and community stormwater mitigation focusing on green stormwater infrastructure strategies and upgrades to make the area more flood resilient, as well as expanding park amenities to encourage active play and recreation for all ages, especially young children. The last phase of master plan will see the existing community center expanded to more than 12,000 sq ft of space, designed for LEED certification and ideal for indoor sports, recreation and educational use. The community center’s expansion will conclude Edgewood Park’s transformation as a destination community park that meets the community’s recreational and educational needs while serving as a model for community sustainability and storm resilience.