Austin looks to copy Discovery Green model for Waller Creek

Park conservancy model

Roha Teferra, Jun 14, 11.

“How Houston created Discovery Green park is a template for how a newly formed Austin conservancy hopes to transform land along downtown’s neglected Waller Creek,” according to Shonda Novak of American Statesman Austin is incorporating a public-private partnership to help raise money for the project.

Novak reports that Austin City Council member Sheryl Cole says “her vision of what the area could become was shaped in large part by trips to other cities that have used the conservancy model to create successful urban parks, including Chicago, Vancouver, and Houston.”

Unlike Houston, Austin faces some challenges related to the timeline of the project. Construction cannot begin before 2014, following the completion of the city’s flood control tunnel. Austin arts supporter Melba Whatley indicates that “among the challenges the group will face are maintaining momentum while waiting for the competition results, engaging citizens and giving them confidence in the process, and putting a board in place for the conservancy.”