Downtown park plans unveiled

So now we know what kinds of stuff will be in the new downtown park: and it's, uh, park stuff. The $81 million, 12-acre park in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center will feature a large pond, a putting green, a great lawn, an ampitheater, interactive fountains and two restaurants run by Schiller Del Grande (of Cafe Annie and Cafe Express fame). Check out a diagram of the park's design from the Chronicle.

Officials unveiled plans for the park, which was designed by a team led by Hargreaves Associates of San Francisco, yesterday. Houston Downtown Park Conservancy Director Guy Hagstette said the designers paid attention to comments from two public meetings last year and tried to create a park that could be used, not just admired:

"So often, parks are considered so precious that the impact of human activity must be carefully managed," Hagstette said. "We didn't want a park where security guards were telling people not to walk on the grass."

Houstonist was at the convention center this weekend, and if nothing else, we think it'll be much nicer for people attending conventions and meetings there to hang out in a park than on a parking lot, like they're forced to do now. Plus, the park should spur development in the eastern part of downtown: LandCo, a Colorado company, said it will begin building a residential tower near the park in 2008, and local developer Marvy Finger is expected to announce details of another project soon.

There'll be a public contest to name the park in August. "Houston 1836 Park," anyone?