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    coming soon

    Memorial Park masterminds reveal new timeline for game-changing master plan

    Natalie Harms, InnovationMap
    May 31, 2019 | 9:15 am
    Nancy and Rich Kinder at MD Anderson Legends dinner
    Prolific and philanthropic couple Nancy and Rich Kinder gifted $70 million to Memorial Park.
    Photo by Michelle Watson Catchlight Group

    Memorial Park Conservancy has until 2028 to deliver on its master plan redevelopment project, but if MPC president and CEO Shellye Arnold has anything to say about it, the plan will be completed way ahead of that.

    The project is a collaborative effort between MPC, Uptown Houston TIRZ, and Houston Parks and Recreation Department to redevelop the 1,500-acre park. In 2011, a major drought decimated the park and areas saw losses of 50 to even 90 percent of the canopy of trees.

    "As tragic as it was, it made people take action," says Arnold.

    Following the drought, these organizations looked to the people to see what was needed and wanted by the 3 million visitors and residents of the 170 ZIP codes that frequent the park annually.

    "There was a huge outcry to do something," Arnold says. "That something became an effort to define the future of the park in a way that would be powerful, bold, thoughtful, innovative, and very resilient. It would consider Houstonians of the future and Houstonians today. It would consider soils, storm water treatment, the wildlife, and what people want."

    When putting the plans in place, MPC and its partners called on 25 of the best ecologists, as well as 50 more park and other types of consultants specializing in everything from insects and wildlife to prairies and trees.

    The overall funding plan is a total of $205 million — MPC itself has a capital campaign goal of $50 million — with $32 million to go. A $70 million donation from the Kinder Foundation is the most significant contribution within the fundraising efforts. The foundation approached MPC asking to help contribute to the most transformative project in the master plan, Arnold says, and so they suggested the Eastern Glades, a park within a park and the first project within the master plan to deliver.

    MPC expects the Eastern Glades to open next summer — and much of the construction has already been completed. The area will be a 100-acre park within a park with wetlands, a man-made pond, nine acres of picnic space, and three picnic pavilions.

    Eastern Glades
    "The full 100-acre Eastern Glades project will provide an amenity that we do not have right now," says Arnold in a release, "a place to put down a blanket and read a book, relax on a park bench, or go for a leisurely walk and just enjoy being outdoors."

    In addition to the Eastern Glades, the park will also reopen some relocated ballparks next year.

    After next year, the MPC and its master plan partners will deliver a slew of other projects on a rolling basis.

    Here are some other exciting ones you can expect in the next few years:

    Running Complex
    Running is such an important part of Memorial Park, Arnold says, citing the Seymour Lieberman's millions of annual visitors. The $19-million running complex is expected to deliver in 2022.

    Memorial Groves
    There's a section of Memorial Park that has more history than the rest of the land. The master plan includes a 100-acre, $21.5-million memorial center for the fallen soldiers from Camp Logan that's expected to deliver in 2022.

    "There were a handful of WWI training camps — this was one of the sites that was chosen," Arnold says. "We have archeological features in the park."

    The memorial will feature native pine trees that will be planted in a formation that looks as if they are standing in attention.

    The Land Bridge
    Possibly the most striking of all the plans is the Land Bridge. The project will connect each of the prairie wetlands on either side of Memorial Drive with a 30-foot-high arch of land. The space will be large enough that you don't even realize you're standing over a busy street, Arnold says. The Land Bridge is planned to deliver in 2022.

    ---

    Continue reading this story on InnovationMap.

    The new Memorial Park will feature bridges for safe human and animal passing.

    Memorial Park renovations central connector
      
    Courtesy photo
    The new Memorial Park will feature bridges for safe human and animal passing.
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    news/city-life

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    National food magazine champions Houston nonprofit head on new 'Power 100' list

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 10, 2025 | 5:45 pm
    Lindsey Brown Southern Smoke Foundation
    Photo by Julie Soefer
    Lindsey Brown is Southern Smoke's new executive director.

    The leader of one of Houston’s most prominent nonprofits is basking in the national spotlight. Lindsey Brown, co-founder and executive director of the Southern Smoke Foundation, is part of the inaugural class of Cherry Bombe magazine’s Power List.

    Published on June 6, the Cherry Bombe Power List is the latest initiative from the media company that focuses on women in the world of food and beverage. The list celebrates women in a range of disciplines in the food world, including TV stars such as Top Chef’s Kristen Kish and Gail Simmons; lifestyle guru Martha Stewart; powerhouse chefs such as Dominique Crenn (the only women in America to lead a three-star Michelin restaurant) and Beard Award winner Mashama Bailey (The Grey in Savannah); and actor Liza Colón-Zayas, who won an Emmy for playing Tina in The Bear.

    Brown, who co-founded Southern Smoke with her husband, James Beard Award-winner (and CultureMap wine columnist) Chris Shepherd, left a successful career as a publicist to become Southern Smoke’s executive director in 2023. The organization provides assistance to hospitality workers nationwide through its Emergency Relief Fund and offers access to mental health counseling in 10 states and Washington, D.C. through its Behind You initiative. The organization's star-studded annual food festival will return to Discovery Green in October.

    “It was an incredible honor — and a bit daunting — to be recognized alongside so many women I look up to,” Brown said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment. “As a former publicist, Cherry Bombe is a publication I respect for many reasons, especially because of the way they lift up and celebrate women in the industry. I never imagined being recognized on a list with my heroes like Ellen Yin, Gail Simmons, and Martha Hoover. I’m so honored and also even more focused on Southern Smoke Foundation’s mission to support the F+B industry."

    Brown isn’t the only Texas on the list. Cherry Bombe also recognized chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, who has earned both a spot in the Michelin guide and a James Beard Award finalist nomination for her Austin restaurant Birdie’s, and New York Times restaurant critic Priya Krisha, who grew up in Dallas.

    “We’re honored to spotlight these amazing leaders in culinary, hospitality, philanthropy, and beyond,” Kerry Diamond, Cherry Bombe’s founder and editor-in-chief, said in a statement. “Our CEO, Kate Miller Spencer, and I came up with the idea for the Power Issue last year when we thought we would finally have a woman in the White House. That moment didn’t arrive, but the entire Cherry Bombe team remains firm believers in the power of women to lead, create change, push boundaries, and build community — especially in the food and drink space. Celebrating these women is more important than ever.”

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