Harris County Opens NW Houston Anchor Park Along Cypress Creek

SPRING, TX -- Twelve years ago, a grassroots group of residents sat down with two Houston developers to discuss the fate of a major greenbelt in suburban northwest Harris County.

Determined to preserve one of the last major undeveloped areas along Cypress Creek, Jim Robertson, group member and chair of the Cypress Creek Greenway Project, shared his vision of a connected park system along the greenway.

“When we stumbled onto this area we didn’t know what we found. It was incredible to find an area like this sitting in the middle of a rapidly developing area, that was essentially untouched,” said Robertson, chair of the Cypress Creek Greenway Project. “We approached HP about this property. Shortly after that, HP announced they were going to sell 462 acres.”

When Vincent Kickerillo and Walt Mischer of V&W Partners purchased the land in the early 2000s, residents feared the new owners would flatten a thriving wetland instrumental to the development of a connected park system along Cypress Creek.

Instead, V&W Partners surprised them. After a series of meetings that spanned months, the group settled on an agreement that benefitted everyone.

V&W Partners would donate about 80 acres of parkland, worth an estimated $9 million, to Precinct 4 for a public park.

That parkland is known today as the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve, which opened as Precinct 4’s fifth anchor park along Cypress Creek April 1.

“Properties like the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve aren’t just here for recreational purposes. They also preserve wildlife, such as deer and great blue herons. In times of flooding, water goes into our parks instead of into our neighborhoods,” Harris County Commissioner Jack Cagle said. “Eventually, this preserve will connect to the Cypress Creek Greenway and give residents new transportation opportunities.”

The park’s master plan, developed by Precinct 4, the Friends of the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve, and local landscape architect Clark Condon Associates, won a "Best of the Best Award" from the Houston Galveston Area Council. “That plan laid the groundwork for the park you see today,” said Robertson.

The park features a 1.7-mile paved nature trail around a 40-acre lake, restrooms, showers, parking lots, and water recreational activities through Precinct 4’s Trails As Parks program. Fishing piers, a picnic pavilion, outdoor classroom, and an amphitheater are also planned.

Once an existing building located near the property is renovated, Precinct 4 plans to add a director and onsite caretakers who will provide Precinct 4 park programming. Greenway For Robertson, the most exciting aspect of the preserve is yet to come.

Since founding the Cypress Creek Greenway Project in 2004, Robertson has made a goal of working with communities and government entities such as Precinct 4 to connect parks along Cypress Creek from west of U.S. 290, eastward to the Spring Creek Greenway at Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center. The Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve was one of his earliest victories.

“Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the opening is to see the results of many entities working together jointly over many years to preserve a wonderful area along Cypress Creek as part of the Cypress Creek Greenway,” said Robertson.

So far, Robertson said about 24 parks including county, municipal utility district, and developer parks from west of US 290 to Spring Creek have opened out of the 30 planned parks.

Of those, Precinct 4 has opened some of the five largest parks including Mercer Botanic Gardens, Collins Park, Meyer Park, and the 100 Acre Woods Preserve.

Meanwhile, a group of MUDs and companies hope to expand the greenway system into the communities with the Cypress Creek Trails Master Plan.

“The idea is to have the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve, The Vintage, and the HP campus as a nucleus for a trail system along Cypress Creek that goes out into the community,” Robertson said.

The trails will span communities along Eldrige, Cutten Spring Cypress, and Grant Road, Robertson added.

Once the greenway is complete, experts predict the region could see millions in economic and environmental benefits.

A 2013 study commissioned by the Houston Parks Board found the Cypress Creek Greenway could provide $14-20 million in economic benefits such as vehicle cost savings, air quality improvement, carbon sequestration, ecosystem support, clean water, and property value increases.

“I hope the creation of these parks will serve as a catalyst for the development of trail connectivity, not only within the Cypress Creek Greenway, but also into the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Robertson.

Photo courtesy of Harris County Commissioner