Harwin Park in Houston’s Alief-Westwood neighborhood is enjoying recently completed improvements thanks to the 50/50 Park Partners initiative to create equity in City of Houston neighborhood parks. M2L Associates served as the landscape architect for the project with Landscape Art Inc. as the general contractor.
Harwin Park is M2L’s second 50/50 Park to be unveiled following Hartman Park in July 2021.
Wen-Ping Hung, M2L principal and project lead, said her designs were informed with collaboration and extensive community feedback to ensure the neighborhood’s needs and vision were fulfilled. Improvements include added lighting, playground upgrades, new covered picnic pavilion, new exercise station, and upgrades to walkways and paths around the park. The expanded playground area includes state-of-the-art equipment designed to promote cognitive, emotional, physical and social development.
“One of our passions at M2L Associates is to use our extensive parks experience to improve neighborhoods and communities one park at a time,” Hung said. “No matter the size of the park or renovation, every project we take on is unique and meaningful to the M2L team and to the community and people it serves. The 50/50 Park Partners campaign dovetails nicely with our mission and values because it creates a means to bring partners and resources together to help smaller and underserved parks get the updates they need along with longer-term support and resources for sustained impact.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner’s 50/50 Park Partners campaign brings together the Houston Parks Board, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department with 50 companies to make financial commitments and ancillary support for 50 Houston neighborhood parks. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to uplift parks in communities that need it most and continue to strengthen Houston’s national reputation as a green space leader.
Community Health Choice, a nonprofit, managed healthcare organization, committed $450,000 as the corporate partner for Harwin Park, with additional financial support as well as program support through volunteer and in-kind resources. Vicki Keiser, chair of the Community Health Choice board, said the organization’s vision, “Healthy Life for Every Texan,” is fulfilled in supporting neighborhood parks and healthy communities. “We are proud to be a part of Mayor Turner’s 50/50 Park Partners initiative, as it aligns with our commitment to provide innovative leadership to healthcare challenges,” she said.
Turner said Complete Communities is about championing the voices of the residents, as is the 50/50 Park Partners campaign. “I am proud that the upgrades to Harwin Park reflect the needs and desires of the Alief-Westwood community,” he said. “Every neighborhood should have access to quality parks, and I thank our partners for helping to make this shared vision for Houston a reality.”
Harwin Park is located at 11350 Harwin Drive and adjacent to the Brays Bayou Connector Trail. For more information about the 50/50 Park Partners campaign or to learn how to get involved, visit Houston5050parkpartners.com.