City Park is a development in

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that encompasses the subdivisions of City Park, City Park West, and City Oaks.Master Plan
" City Park. Accessed January 7, 2019. Older versio
here
It is within the Five Corners District and has of space. The neighborhood, consisting of 1,500 houses, is on a tract along Orem Drive, between

Texas State Highway 288 State Highway 288 (SH 288) is a north–south highway in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Texas, between I-45 in downtown Houston and Freeport, where it terminates on FM 1495. The route was originally designated by 1939, r ...

and Almeda Road.Colley, Jenna.
Public + private = City Park
" ''

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''. Friday September 20, 2002. Retrieved on March 12, 2010. City Park, located along Sims Bayou, is centered at the intersection of Kirby Drive and West Orem Drive. Jenna Colley of the ''

'' said that the subdivision is one seven-minute drive away from the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...

. The development is also slated for a park in addition to its many walking trails and playgrounds.Amenities
" ''City Park''. Accessed October 30, 2008.

History

In April 2002 Sam Yager Jr., the president of Sam Yager Inc., a land management company, approached City of Houston planners with the proposed City Park project. During that year planners from the City of Houston and Harris County agreed to enter a public-private partnership to facilitate the development of City Park on then-vacant land. At the time Orem Drive did not extend eastward to

, nor did it extend westward to Kirby Drive. The city and county agreed to build separate extensions of Orem Drive. Al Haines, the chief administrative officer of the City of Houston in 2002, said that the City Park project caused the city to prioritize the extension of Orem Drive. The

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

agreed to create a

municipal utility district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(MUD) designed to reimburse the costs of the utility infrastructure construction. Yager said that the City Park project would have been too expensive to implement if the MUD had not been created. The City of Houston participated in the City Park project to provide jobs, lower housing prices, and encourage the development of retail businesses in the surrounding area. The subdivision, built on former farmland, was intended to provide living space for people who work in the

and

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...

. The project had a cost of $250 million. Upon completion the nearly 1,500 houses within City Park were to be priced between $70,000 and $140,000. The project was Yager's firm's first project within the City of Houston limits. Yager's firm managed the project, as Parkside Homes was the home builder. Yager's investors, which did not receive any tax abatements included GBF/LIC 288 Ltd and Lumbermen's Investment Corp. The City of Houston expected $1.5 million in revenues within seven to eight years of the development of City Park. Haines said that market forces would determine whether City Park is financially successful. In 2005 the price range of houses in City Park was between $90,000 ($ in current money) and $140,000 ($ in current money). During that year ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' said that in City Park "sales are strong, even though the lots and homes are much smaller than those for comparable money in the exurbs, and they are in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

, which some young families want to avoid." After the developers of City Park had announced their plans, other developers wishing to create subdivisions in southern Houston began including the creation of MUDs in their plans.

Government and infrastructure

City Park is in

District D.

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in the

. The community is within Trustee District IX, represented by Lawrence Marshall as of 2008. As of 2018 zoned schools for almost all of the development are Almeda Elementary School in Almeda, Lawson Middle School (formerly

Dick Dowling Richard Dowling (born 12 December 1938) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1982 to 1987. He also served as a Senator for the Labour Panel from May to November ...

Middle School) in

Hiram Clarke Hiram Clarke is an area in Houston, Texas, United States, southwest of NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park). History Hiram Clarke Road was named after Hiram Clarke, a Houston Lighting & Power Co. assistant general manager and executive vice president ...

, and Worthing High School in Sunnyside.Worthing High School Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on January 7, 2019. Landmark at City Park Apartments, a part of the City Park development, is zoned to Reynolds Elementary School,

Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks ( – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, commonly regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the Amer ...

Middle School in Sunnyside, and Worthing High School. Prior to the northern hemisphere fall of 2011 the development was zoned to Woodson K-8 School for Grades 6-8. Prior to the northern hemisphere fall of 2012, City Park was zoned to Reynolds Elementary School for grades K-5.Agenda Board of Education Meeting April 12, 2012
"
Archive

. CURRENT - REYNOLDS AND ALMEDA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Attachment D-5 and PROPOSED - REYNOLDS AND ALMEDA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Attachment D-5. Retrieved on June 14, 2012. After the fall of 2011 and before the fall of 2012, City Park was zoned to Attucks Middle School.Attucks Middle Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on October 26, 2011.Agenda Board of Education Meeting April 12, 2012
"
Archive

. CURRENT - ATTUCKS AND DOWLING MIDDLE SCHOOLS Attachment D-6 and PROPOSED - ATTUCKS AND DOWLING MIDDLE SCHOOLS Attachment D-6. Retrieved on June 14, 2012. The City Park website advertised its proximity to other HISD schools, including: *Codwell Elementary School *Frost Elementary School *Law Elementary School *Thomas Middle School * Sterling High School The developer plans include a site for a future Houston ISD school.

References

External links

City Park
{{coord, 29.622, -95.400, region:US-TX, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston

History

Government and infrastructure

Education

See also

References

External links