A diamond in the rough - Sugar Land, Texas

Parks & Recreation, April, 2002 by Joe Chesser

You've just purchased your dream home in the heart of suburbia, a community meticulously planned to address the priorities of life: a well planned, safe city with a thriving economy, first-class recreational facilities and "exemplary" rated schools. Your community has the feeling of a small town with the advantages of a nearby metropolitan area. Neighbors take pride in their homes and their neighborhood and place a premium on civic involvement. Life is good, except for the sand pit clearly visible from the bay window in your kitchen.

The manicured landscape of Sugar Land, Texas, would likely make the perfect setting for a modern-day Norman Rockwell painting of suburban America. With sprawling master-planned communities, country clubs, oak tree-lined roadways and a shopping mall dotting the landscape, the picturesque setting is more than just skin deep.

Residents enjoy a low crime rate, high-performing schools and a thriving economy. These factors, combined with an aggressive capital improvements program, contribute to the City's continued growth. With a population of just over 63,800, the 2000 U.S. Census ranked Sugar Land among the fastest growing cities in Texas. During the next 10 years, Sugar Land is expected to double in size, a product of a city vision to provide an unsurpassed quality of life: "Sugar Land develops for tomorrow, today."

Planned growth through public-private partnerships has been key to the City's ability to provide first-class amenities, including 347 acres of community and neighborhood parks. While Sugar Land is a city of modest size, its master parks plan is representative of what might be found in larger metropolitan cities like its neighbor to the northeast -- the city of Houston.

A city survey conducted in 1995 showed that the number one priority of citizens was passive park settings and extensive trail systems. As a result, an Open Space Master Plan was implemented shortly thereafter that resulted in the creation of one of the City's signature park complexes.

From Pit to Park

Once a barren source of fill dirt bounded by a utility easement, Oyster Creek Park is now an attractive public space. Since it opened July 4, 2000, the facility has evolved into a source of pride for the entire community.

Prior to the creation of the park, residential developers viewed the 110 acres at State Highway 6 and Settlers Way Boulevard as unusable except for excavation purposes, but city park planners saw a diamond in the rough. Nestled amid master-planned residential communities, the transformation of the pit into a signature park facility has exceeded all expectations.

The craters left by fill dirt operations served as a start for what is now the facility's focal point, a free-flowing water feature that separates an amphitheater from a massive open area suitable for events on a grand scale, such as the City's annual Red, White and Bluefest, an Independence Day celebration that attracted 50,000 the first year it was held at Oyster Creek Park. Building on the area's natural amenities, the water feature accents the natural undergrowth and forest lining of Oyster Creek and contributes to a dramatic entrance. To access the park, visitors cross a pedestrian bridge spanning the lush vegetation of Oyster Creek and are immediately confronted with the football field-length water feature, which includes lights, water falls and fountains surrounded by stone boulders and river rocks.

Events offered at the facility run the gamut from picnics to city-sponsored events like concerts and Easter celebrations. But more importantly, the park has served as an effective bond for the City's diverse community, a fact clearly apparent during last year's "Proud to be Americans" rally that attracted thousands and affirmed the City's decision to build the facility. During the rally songs of freedom and patriotism filled the park, as residents from many backgrounds -- Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian -- joined together to mourn victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the Pennsylvania countryside.

A Public-Private Partnership

The success of the facility is the result of a public-private partnership involving a $500,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (made possible because the natural habitat along Oyster Creek was left intact) and donations of 91 acres from Sugarland Properties, Inc. (a local developer); 2.5 acres from First Colony Community Services Association; and 17.5 acres from Standard Pacific of Texas, Inc.

Construction of the facility was funded by sales taxes collected by the Sugar Land 4B Corporation, a non-profit group created to improve the quality of life in the City.

Two Parks in One

A unique aspect of the park is a 10-foot wide trail system interconnecting Oyster Creek Park to nearby Lost Creek Park. The trail system -- built, in part, on a utility easement owned by Reliant Energy HL&P -- facilitates a regional interrelated park system, with Oyster Creek accommodating passive use and citywide events and Lost Creek Park providing more active amenities, including: