Upper Kirby District Street Talk

In This Issue:

Big Trees on the Move

Westheimer Construction

US 59 Feeder Construction

Community Resources

City Council District C

City Council District G

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Upper Kirby District

Upper Kirby Update

May 9, 2014

Levy Park Redevelopment

Begins With the Relocation of Eight Massive Oaks

Upper Kirby and Midway

Partner to Move Huge Oaks

The Upper Kirby District and the Midway Companies are nearly complete with a collaborative effort to move eight huge oak trees from the future sight of Midway's Avenue Grove project-a high-end residential development adjacent to the park- to the newly expanded park property abutting Wakeforest Street just south of Richmond.

Watch the amazing video of this work being performed.

Tree Relocation at Levy Park

The Upper Kirby District aims to begin construction this fall on a massive renovation of Levy Park that will include new dog park facilities, community gardens, one-of-a-kind children's and adult play, event facilities, food and drink and year-round, curated programming.

The Midway Companies have partnered with Upper Kirby as long-term lease holders on District-owned properties adjacent to the newly expanded park space and are currently under construction on Kirby Grove, a transformative mixed-use project flanking the park on the north and south ends to create an environment conducive to 12-18 hour park activity and a vibrant community gathering place.

The new developments involved in Kirby Grove thoughtfully integrate Class A office space, restaurant amenities and high end lofts to complement the park work being undertaken by Upper Kirby and activate the park's edges. In addition to the park activity to be catalyzed by the Midway projects, the revenue derived from the leases will maintain the public improvements in the park for the next 99 years.

Upper Kirby's park work and Midway's adjacent projects are being orchestrated to be completed simultaneously to create a highly activated project. The combination of uses and urban green space will generate an economically and physically sustainable model that will redefine quality of life in Upper Kirby.

For more information on the Levy Park redevelopment, please contact Travis Younkin at 713.524.8000 or travis@upperkirby.org.

Upper Kirby Construction

Telecom Duct Installation Underway

Westheimer

Paving, Drainage and Streetscape Improvements Project:

With the CenterPoint Energy duct now complete on Westheimer along the first construction segment heading east from Buffalo Speedway, telecommunications duct bank construction is well underway.

Crews did suffer the loss of one full day of work earlier this week when they hit an unmarked six-inch gas line causing a complete shutdown of the roadway between Buffalo Speedway and River Oaks Boulevard. Center Point Gas worked throughout the day and into overnight on Tuesday to secure the line and work resumed on Wednesday. There is still likely two weeks of work left in this section before crews can shift efforts east. The next construction segment will run approximately from River Oaks Boulevard to Eastside Street. Look for more detail on schedule next week.

As was the case east of Shepherd, construction will be undertaken in 1000-foot segments. Work on this stretch will impact the two eastbound lanes on the south side of Westheimer. Traffic will be shifted to one lane in either direction through the construction zone. Each 1000-foot segment is expected to take four to five weeks to complete. Once a given segment is completed, it will be restored with asphalt and opened prior to the next segment beginning.

The contract duration on this project is 120 days putting completion somewhere around June/July 2014. Weather permitting, roadway construction between Kirby and Shepherd should be able to begin immediately following utility completion west of Kirby.

CenterPoint and the telecommunications companies will follow behind duct bank construction reconnecting services underground. The duration of this reconnection work will be up to the utility providers though 45 to 90 days is typical. Traffic impact during this work is negligible.

Once the utilities have been removed and the lines brought underground west of Kirby, Upper Kirby will move forward with drainage and underground infrastructure improvements followed by complete repaving of the roadway. The project will also entail the installation of a pedestrian-oriented streetscape similar to the treatment provided on the recent Kirby Drive and Buffalo Speedway projects. This work will first be completed between Shepherd and Kirby followed by an identical scope of work between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway.

Roadway reconstruction is anticipated to last approximately 10 months. Drainage improvement and roadway reconstruction between Kirby and Buffalo will immediately follow and will have a similar approximate duration.

For more information on Upper Kirby construction and related activities or for construction related issues or concerns, please contact Travis Younkin at 713.524.8000 or travis@upperkirby.org.

TxDOT Construction

Some Frontage Lanes to Reopen this Weekend - Inbound Buffalo and Outbound Weslayan Exits to Remain Closed

US 59 Frontage Road Reconstruction

TxDOT crews continued work this week on the reconstruction of the frontage roads on US 59 between 610 and Shepherd. Construction through the Upper Kirby area began last year with curbside lane reconstruction and has again ramped up between Shepherd and Weslayan with inside lane and u-turn reconstruction.

Frontage road work on the freeway-side lanes began this week along the outbound frontage road between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway and on the u-turn lanes under Buffalo. This area is expected to be impacted for the next three weeks. This work has already begun to impact traffic turning northbound onto Kirby and has made u-turn movements turning onto outbound 59 from inbound 59 at the Kirby intersection increasingly difficult. Motorists may consider exiting Greenbriar/Shepherd and either u-turning back toward Kirby or using Richmond to proceed back west toward Kirby destinations.

On April 21, crews closed the inbound Buffalo Speedway exit and the outbound Weslayan exit to complete work in those areas. These closures are expected to last approximately until May19th.

As traffic continues to be a problem around these exits, motorists may consider Westpark or Richmond as alternates on shorter trips and exiting several exits early when possible to avoid the construction zones.

Following the reopening of the aforementioned exits, TxDOT intends to close the outbound entrance at Edloe/Buffalo Speedway and the inbound entrance at Weslayan. Weather permitting, this work should begin the week of May 26th and last several weeks.

Some middle and inside lane work remains throughout the project area and intersection work also has yet to be completed. Intersection work will be restricted to nights and weekends, but will, at times, impact all US 59 intersections between 610 and Shepherd.

Look for weekly updates as this project progresses.

If you have a new business, development or community event that you would like included in the monthly Upper Kirby news, please contact us at 713.524.8000 or submit to streettalk@upperkirby.org

Requests will be posted subject to space availability and appropriateness of content.

Upper Kirby is a constantly evolving urban area marked by an outstanding location, great shopping, unique residential neighborhoods, smart development and a small town feel. It is an area of successful businesses, involved communities and a synergy between the public and private sectors. It is the heartbeat of Houston and everywhere you want to be.