The City’s Historic and Design Review Commission on Wednesday gave final approval for plans to landscape the downtown park located next to the ascending Frost Bank Tower.
Weston Urban, the local developer behind the new Frost Bank Tower, wants the park at 210 N. Flores St. to match the landscaping that will accompany the new building. Once completed, 11,000 square feet of green space will feature a ring of existing oak trees, new pathways, seating areas, and opportunities for further development.
It is unclear when the landscaping will begin on the park. Construction on the tower is expected to end in 2019. Weston Urban could not be reached for comment prior to publication.
New Haven, Connecticut-based Pelli Clarke Pelli designed the new Frost Bank Tower alongside local architectural consultant Alamo Architects. Bill Butler, principal at Pelli Clarke Pelli, previously told the Rivard Report that the base of the 23-story, glass-walled building would serve as a sort of “pavilion in the park.”
A pergola will hang above the park’s western walkway across from the new building and stretch alongside North Flores Street. Designers also plan to pay tribute to a late 19th-century Presbyterian church that once sat on the site by repurposing limestones for seating along the paths. A design rendering also suggests there will be dedicated areas for outdoor chairs and tables.
Engineering schematics show that a new walkway will loop inside the park, leaving an oval-shaped grassy area in the middle of the site and more surrounding the path.
“The open space and the promenade along the Frost Tower on Houston Street should be viewed as an island of green that connects to the San Pedro Creek Culture Park,” according to documents submitted to the Historic and Design Review Commission.
The documents also state that there’s space in the Northwest corner of the park for a “potential retail building.” However any future building on the site would be restricted to a size of 5,000 square feet.
Commissioners approved the item on consent without any discussion. No one signed up to address commissioners about the plan.
