Posted Feb 15, 2024, 4:08 PM
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FYHA
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Houston - Wichita, KS
Posts: 3,216
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lif...s-18630989.php
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County Commissioner Rodney Ellis planning bike-and-hike greenspace for Sunnyside
The Hill at Sims will transform a dirt mound into a scenic center south of town
By Andrew Dansby,
Staff writer
Jan 30, 2024
On a bike ride around Sims Bayou eight years ago, former state Sen. Rodney Ellis gazed upon a mound composed of 1.6 million cubic yards of dirt and imagined something beautiful.
Ellis returned later as Harris County Commissioner to scale that hill. There, in the Sunnyside neighborhood where he grew up, he looked upon Houston. Several miles to the west, the Williams Tower. To the east, refineries. Between them, the downtown skyline gleamed.
On a sunny day that followed a rainy week, Ellis treks through the mud to the top of the hill once again. When he reaches the top, he makes a few 360-degree turns, careful not to trip over discarded beer bottles.
“Look at that view,” Ellis says.
Ellis has grand plans to share that view with his fellow Houstonians. He has shepherded a project managed by the Houston Parks Board that will make the brown artificial mound into a flora-cloaked epicenter of the Hill at Sims, a lush green space with hiking and biking paths and a cluster of lakes. The project feels radical, creating splendor from the utilitarian. The 100-acre green space will emerge from a regional detention basin owned by the Harris County Flood Control District.
The Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to approve the final funding for the $28.3 million project. The Hill at Sims is projected to be completed in late 2025.
'Something memorable'
Urban parks are frequently framed as a respite from the city: insular spaces where residents can pretend concrete, blacktop and glass are farther away than they are.
The plans for the Hill at Sims take a different approach. The space will be dedicated to nature, without park prerequisites like playgrounds.
But its panoramic view celebrates its connection to the sprawling city. “Parks like this make us connect more as human beings,” Ellis says. “It’s a good thing for the city. 'The most diverse city in the country.' That’s nice to talk about. But that diversity needs ways for us to interact with one another.”
A new bridge will link the Hill at Sims’ 1.5-mile loop, which encircles an additional 4.5 miles of trails, to the Sims Bayou Greenway, which itself boasts another 20 miles of trails. For those seeking a swing set, Cloverland Park remains across Scott Street.
Beth White, president and CEO of Houston Parks Board, remarks on its value “as part of a regional complex. There’s great synergy here with parks and recreation.”
Ellis wants to emphasize a sense of connection, so he pushed for a bridge across Sims Bayou that looks like no other in the city.
“I wanted something unique,” he says. “Something memorable.”
Renderings for the bridge indicate Ellis got his way. A dramatic rust-colored structure will contrast the green around it as it crosses the bayou before splitting at the Hill at Sims. Part of the bridge will connect with a path to the park’s trails, while an offshoot leads to a cantilevered viewing area.
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Images c/o The Architect's Newspaper/SWA Group
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The park offers 360-degree views of Houston, its skyline, and the surrounding landscape afforded by other nearby greenspaces. (Courtesy SWA)
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Another pavilion is also planned for the site (Courtesy SWA)
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