Pearland is officially putting money behind its Old Town revival. On Monday last week, City Council signed off on $289,500 from the Pearland Economic Development Corporation to hire TBG Partners for a conceptual design of the Grand Link, a reimagined stretch of Grand Boulevard that aims to function as a hub for markets, festivals and everyday pedestrian life. The move is the first major implementation step since the city adopted the Old Town Revitalization Plan in 2025.
According to City of Pearland council materials, Resolution R2026-26 authorizes the PEDC expenditure and a professional services agreement with TBG Partners. The packet outlines a scope of work that includes site inventory and analysis, infrastructure review, stakeholder engagement, a conceptual master plan and a boundary survey, and it directs TBG to produce an opinion of probable construction cost. The PEDC’s FY26 budget already sets aside initial Old Town implementation funds so the city can launch design work and early studies.
What the Grand Link Will Look Like
The Grand Link concept would turn Grand Boulevard into three distinct character segments: a festival street from Broadway to East Plum that ties into Zychlinski Park, a parking street that upgrades on-street spaces for nearby businesses, and a landscaped median farther north. In the Old Town Revitalization Plan, the festival block is described as highly flexible, with brick paving, buried utilities, hydraulic bollards and widened sidewalks designed so the city can flip the street between vehicle traffic and pedestrian-focused events. The broader plan also calls for public art, upgraded lighting and new landscaping to help Old Town function as a civic and cultural anchor.
Timeline and Price Tag
The TBG proposal lays out a roughly 42-week schedule for the conceptual design, broken into discovery, development and delivery phases that are billed separately. The consultant will prepare an Opinion of Probable Construction Cost to support budgeting. The Old Town plan previously included a high-level estimate of about $20.7 million for the three Grand Link segments. According to city staff, the conceptual OPCC will be used to split the work into buildable packages and guide funding talks with the PEDC, the city and potential grant partners.
How TBG Was Chosen and What Comes Next
Per Community Impact, city staff advertised a request for qualifications in August 2025. The Pearland EDC board voted to advance the TBG agreement on Jan. 15, and council finalized the award on Feb. 9. With the contract now in place, TBG is set to begin stakeholder outreach and technical studies, including drainage and traffic circulation analysis for temporary street closures, along with detailed cost estimating. Those findings will help determine which portions of Grand Boulevard get built first and how the project is funded and phased.
Why This Matters
Old Town is Pearland’s historic core, and city leaders describe the revitalization as a long-term, phased effort to boost walkability, support small businesses and create more programmed public life rather than a quick redevelopment push. During the plan adoption process, Mayor Kevin Cole stressed that progress would not be overnight, saying, “We’re not just going to approve this and tomorrow we start building it,” underscoring the emphasis on careful planning and community input. With design work now funded, residents are likely to see park upgrades and smaller pilot activations first, followed by larger street reconstruction projects as funding and delivery plans fall into place.
