Hallelujah! 11th Street Park is saved.

Last month, we were hopeful that the city would agree to purchase part of the 11th Street Park in northwest Houston took save it from developers. Fortunately for the nearby residents, and Houston as a whole, the city agreed yesterday to secure the park for $9.2 million.

The city is providing a little less than half of the funds for the park; the other money comes from Amegy Bank, the park board, and community fundraisers. One of the largest supporters to save the park is Friends of West 11th Street Park:

Lorraine Cherry, head of the Friends of West 11th Street Park, was relieved to hear the city committed to buying the property. Cherry praised the Park Board for working with neighborhood residents, lenders and local governments to make the deal work..

"There were a whole lot of cards in a row that had to fall just the right way for this to happen," Cherry said. "I couldn't be more grateful. Without them, we would have lost the whole park."

Unfortunately, the full 20-acres were not saved. About a fourth of the park will be available to developers. It’s still good news for those near Timbergrove Manor. Now, if we can only encourage the city to save a couple of other Houston landmarks…

Photo: Flickr user jeffbalke