Mayor Sylvester Turner is set to slice the ribbon on a slice of rejuvenated green in Houston's Northeast side, as Evella Park gets a $785,610 facelift under the city's Love Our Parks initiative. At 5210 Evella in the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood, where on-the-up doesn't always mean spick-and-span, this park plunked down in 0.46 acres has stood its ground since 1971, according to the City of Houston press release.
A hoop and holler away from its former self, the park now boasts a new basketball court and goals, with the cherry on top being new furnishings, upgraded sidewalks, and lighting that brighten the proposition of an evening stroll, no small thanks to the Cheniere Foundation's wallet, that coughed up more than $200,000 for these upgrades and the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities has also chipped in with manpower and, it appears Turner's initiative has breathed new life into not just Evella but a grand total of 10 parks that have been gussied up to the tune of communal glee.
"The Love Our Parks initiative has brought smiles to the faces of neighborhood residents from its inception," Mayor Turner said, and Zach Davis of Cheniere Energy chimed in with similar chords, flaunting the company's 'steadfast commitment to the communities where we live and work.' It's a regular powwow of good intentions and open checkbooks, with the public here as the clear winner, reeling in the benefits of corporate generosity and political will, as mentioned on the press release.
Festivities are in full swing today to mark the occasion, and as families flock to the park between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – with a ceremony penciled in for high noon – city departments are rolling up their sleeves to entertain the masses, sprucing up the day with a side of fun courtesy of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Houston Public Library, and none other than the HPD’s Greater Houston Police Activities League, among others, in what can only be described as a family jamboree hosted by city bigwigs and corporate sponsors alike.
The park's revamp signals the culmination of the hard-hitting Love Our Parks Complete Communities initiative, a Turner-touted synergy aimed at buffing up the more drab corners of Houston's park life. Launched with a flourish back in the early phases, it has since unfurled across several community hubs like Hobart Taylor Park, stretching its civic muscles straight through to Evella Park, tying a neat little bow on the project, as recounted by Kenneth Allen, director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, who, with some sparkle in his voice, tipped his hat to everyone who turned this park project from blueprint to basketball hoops and beyond.
