New development coming.

For those of you in the Clear Lake area, (I live in League City) this is a story about the proposed River Market development. I've been following this for a couple of years, and have seen the artist renderings on the project. If League City can pull this off, it's gonna be beautiful. I've highlighted the key points.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/865513

April 1, 2001, 10:34PM

League City hopes to get all wet with development
By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle


LEAGUE CITY -- Water, water everywhere.

And with Clear Creek and Clear Lake forming much of the northern border of this Galveston County town, city leaders are launching plans to put their waterfront to work.

With a feasibility study completed, Richard P. Browne Associates has been chosen to create a master plan to both preserve the water's edge and develop a mixed-use area that will include retail space, housing, entertainment and nature trails.

The development, called League City River Market, is expected to entail 900 acres spanning from Interstate 45 to just past FM 270. About 80 percent of the land is undeveloped, said Browne, the mastermind behind the development of The Woodlands in Montgomery County.

"The River Market is a project with water as its core theme and the notion that League City can become a water-oriented city," he wrote in his proposal.

On the basis of that proposal, the City Council last week unanimously agreed to pay Browne $360,000 to develop a master plan.

Last year, the city paid $95,000 to the Goodman Corp. of Houston to conduct a feasibility study of the project, said Doug Frazior, League City's economic development coordinator.

Frazior said one of the most critical aspects of Browne's master plan will be a market study to determine projected revenue.

"That is so important because when it comes time, the city will have to know what the potential revenue from the project will be in order to lure developers," he said.

Who will pay for the development has not been determined, although the use of private and public funds is expected, Frazior said.

Three focal points are being proposed: a regional center at I-45, a town center at Texas 3 and a neighborhood center at FM 270. A 5-mile waterfront corridor would be connected by a proposed new east-west parkway.

Frazior said most of the proposed two- or four-lane parkway would be built on city-owned property. He said he does not expect local residents to use the road as a new cut-through to avoid the always-crowded Main Street, or FM 518.

"It is not intended to be a thoroughfare like FM 518. This is just to gain access within the development project and to connect the various areas," he said.

Browne and others working on the project are facing challenges with the 100-year flood plain, the congested FM 518, low bridges at Texas 3, shallow water, railroad activity, an existing sewer plant and cemetery, and existing businesses and homes.

Another challenge will be working for a government entity, he said.

"It's a little more difficult to deal with a public entity than a private developer," said Browne, who also has worked on revitalization projects in Fort Worth, a new 1,000-acre community in Brownsville and a 500-acre project for a town center at La Cantera in San Antonio.

Projections call for the River Market to create a $1.5 billion trade area for office, retail, restaurant, entertainment, recreation and residential development over the next 20 years.

Over time, Browne said, the River Market will turn into a "people place" where living, working and playing are blended together.

Plans for the regional center, expected to encompass 117 acres of waterfront, include a mid-rise office building, three restaurants and a 150-room hotel with conference space. Developers hope to attract the likes of Target and other chain stores to the retail area, Frazior said.

The town center would include a "festival marketplace" with space for public events and entertainment, such as holiday events, art shows, open markets, festivals and parades. Also being considered are a 7,500-seat amphitheater, much like the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, two-story buildings with retail on the first floor and loft apartments, seven restaurants and marinas.

The neighborhood center would take in 417 acres and include an ecological park, a school, office and retail space, two restaurants and housing.

Browne, 72, who has aligned himself with a group of architects, engineers, landscapers, environmentalists and entertainment consultants for the project, said the master plan should be completed in about a year. He said many cities have rediscovered their waterfronts and launched projects to revitalize these areas.

Since Clear Creek, which divides Galveston and Harris counties, feeds into Clear Lake, planners are banking on many visitors coming to the River Market by boat. The Clear Lake area is home to the third-largest fleet of pleasure craft in the country.

The master plan will focus on marinas to provide access by water. On land, planners want to build a rubber-tire trolley with a fixed route looping through all of the centers.

Although some of League City's traffic congestion results from tourists traveling through town to get to the popular waterfront in Kemah, Frazior said the River Market is not being planned to compete with League City's neighbor to the east.

Kemah has become a major tourist draw since the completion of the Kemah Waterfront -- an assortment of restaurants, hotels and shops set in an amusement park-like atmosphere.

To satisfy concerns about preserving Clear Creek's natural shoreline, Browne said he wants to maintain a "soft edge" and have continuous waterfront parkland. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be consulted on making shoreline improvements.

His plan will include determining existing property lines and ownership information; a preliminary estimate of the cost of public capital improvements required to support the development; and recommendations to apply for state and federal grants.


A couple of notes: the part about the thoroughfare not being used as a cut-thru for LC residents is wishful thinking. Anybody who drives thru LC knows how bad the traffic is and will take whatever shortcut is available.
Also, the part about this not being an attempt to take business away from the Kemah boardwalk is political doubletalk. I've spoken with members of the Chamber of Commerce here, and their hope is for this project to catch all those cars headed thru town to Kemah and keep them in LC, hence the thoroughfare right down the middle of this project.

I'm actually excited by the whole thing. I just hope it can be accomplished. Despite the traffic, League City is a wonderful place to raise a family, and I think the River Market can only add to its appeal.


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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

The problem, as the creek is now, will develop upstream, in the Friendswood area. Roughly ten years ago, the Army corps of engineers completed a second outlet for Clear Creak at the mouth of Clear Lake. This second passage was designed to alleviate flooding upstream, and was planned in conjunction with a "widening and straightening" plan for Clear Creek. But along the way, the environmentalist got in the way. Clear Creek is one of the last natural waterways of it's kind in Texas, and home to an entire ecosystem unique to the Gulf Coast. So the widening and straightening has yet to be done (it's still in the courts). So the second outlet to the gulf is not being used, and the people in the Friendswood area are still being flooded.

To answer your question...no, this will not cause problems in the immediate area, but the overall scheme for Clear Creek has yet to be decided.

Let me find some articles on the plans for Clear Creek for you.



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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

Here, read this...it tells the whole story. And I was wrong on the dates of the second passage. It was completed about 5 years ago.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/magazine/clcreek.htm

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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

Doubtful. The original plans were first developed in 1968, and revisited in 1979. But other than the second passage, none of those plans have been implimented.

Some. That is part of the problem. Would channelization of the Creek decrease the water table? Deeper channel and faster moving water could pull the ground water out and cause more subsidence.

Agreed. But how do you get rid of the water while preserving nature?

One thing to remember about the River Market is that it is a 20 year plan. Hopefully, by the time groundbreaking begins, the debate over what to do with Clear Creek will be decided, and that River Market is taken into consideration in conjunction with those plans.

On a personal note, I have skied Clear Creek dozens of times, and I hope and pray that they preserve it. However, I used to live next to the creek (we moved last year, but still have many friends there), and have seen firsthand how close the floodwaters come to the houses of many people in the area. Who knows what the next major hurricane will do to the area.

[/B][/QUOTE]



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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

I don't know if you read the link from the TPWD, but here is an excerpt.

One reform from the Galloway Report is that FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has increased funding for buy-out of homes in floodplains. Buy-out, usually done on a voluntary basis, means that the government pays fair market value for a home and helps relocate a family outside the floodplain. After material salvage, homes are bulldozed and the land is returned to nature.

Those opposing Clear Creek channelization strongly support the idea of voluntary buy-out of homes along the creek, but not everyone is satisfied with the "fair market value" offered for his or her home, nor do many floodplain residents wish to relocate. "Nothing is said about the human cost of living in a home for 30 years and [having] to move," says Friendswood resident Cook. Harris County has an active program funding voluntary buy-out, though not specifically attached to the Clear Creek project. "Buy-out is a valid tool in our toolbox," says HCFCD Director Mike Talbott, "but alone, it doesn't get us to the point where the other plan does."


The "buyout and return to nature" plan you speak of is part of the master plan. How it relates to River Market, I'm not sur. But note this passage from the first article:

To satisfy concerns about preserving Clear Creek's natural shoreline, Browne said he wants to maintain a "soft edge" and have continuous waterfront parkland. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be consulted on making shoreline improvements.

I interpret this as such: They could put a hard edge, ie. a bulk head, to stop flooding and eliminate flood plane restrictions. But this soft edge idea sounds like a developer's tool used to sell the beauty of the natural surroundings of the development instead of stating the possibilities of a flood. I just hope money is not being put ahead of common sense.



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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

VOR,

I understand what you are saying, but I am unsure of the position you are taking. Are you for or against channelization with or without development, or no development to preserve nature and risk flooding??

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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

Mango, these really are two separate issues that must be solved simultaniously (sp?): What to do to solve the flooding of upper Clear Creek while preserving its natural state, while developing what could be a major economic boom to the area.

Tough call. This is my town and my kids hometown. I hope they get it right.


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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS