TIRZ #20 Gathering Funds to Build a Community Park and More on the East Edge of Sharpstown

East Sharpstown hosts a government services hub that has been dubbed a "civic core" because of how many Sharpstown and Gulfton residents—especially recent immigrants and refugees—take advantage of the services that it offers. The Southwest Multi-Services Center just west of Hillcroft is a major part of what many local officials call Houston's "Ellis Island," and it may get an upgrade soon.
On June 27, TIRZ #20 announced that it worked with the City of Houston to snag $5.78 million in federal grant dollars for Phase 1 of TIRZ #20's Southwest Civic Core Redevelopment project. The two-phase project, which may cost as much as $42.5 million total, is planned to expand the Multi-Service Center with additional outbuildings, add a community park and parking garage, outfit the campus with a generator so it won't lose power in natural disasters, and more.
Currently, the Southwest Multi-Service Center, owned by the Houston Health Department, hosts the Houston Public Library Express Southwest branch, an urban garden, free hotspot internet access, the Mayor's Office of New Americans, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and Eligibility Assistance for people who need help applying for health service programs. It acts as a cooling center during hot summer days, including the aftermath of Beryl.
The Multi-Service Center also hosts a BakerRipley Senior Health and Wellness Center with several options for seniors: free hot lunches; arts, games, and crafts; and health, wellness, and exercise classes.
The MSC is also part of a larger community resource hub. It's right next to a Legacy Community Health clinic, the BakerRipley Gulfton Sharpstown community center and school, and Prestige Learning Institute, which offers ESL classes for immigrants and refugees. And it's not far from Christian Community Service Center's Emergency Services - Southwest location and The Garden, a new youth community center on the campus of St. Luke's United Methodist Church Gethsemane.
According to TIRZ #20, the site "experiences approximately 1,350 visitors daily between the Multi-Service Center and the adjacent Legacy Health Clinic."
The funding, awarded jointly by U.S. Representatives Al Green and Lizzie Fletcher, will help TIRZ #20 begin Phase 1 of the redevelopment, which includes demolishing a parking lot to make space for the new park and constructing a new outbuilding that can be used as a senior center.
See below for concept drawings and a cost breakdown, taken from the November 2023 redevelopment plan published by TIRZ #20 and consulting agencies The Goodman Corporation and Ultra Barrio.





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