100-acre Hill at Sims Park in Sunnyside opens
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The 60-foot hill. Photo: Courtesy of Houston Parks Board
The $30 million Hill at Sims Park is completed and open to the public.
Why it matters: The Hill at Sims is Sunnyside's first new park in nearly 50 years. The 100-acre space turns flood control infrastructure into public green space built for recreation and storm resilience.
What they're saying: "For too long, communities like Sunnyside — where I grew up — have gone without the parks and greenspaces they deserve. Hill at Sims changes that," said Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, whose office, along with the Houston Parks Board, drove this project.
- "Safe, beautiful places to gather and enjoy time outdoors should not be luxuries reserved for the wealthiest neighborhoods."
Zoom in: Built around an existing detention basin owned by the Harris County Flood Control District, the park combines flood mitigation infrastructure with recreational amenities for more than 50,000 residents in Sunnyside and south Houston. The park celebrated its grand opening Saturday.
- Features include nearly 5 miles of trails, six large-scale murals, a hilltop pavilion atop a 60-foot hill with views of downtown, a fishing pier, scenic overlooks and a pedestrian bridge connecting the park to over 20 miles of hike-and-bike trails along the Sims Bayou Greenway.
Between the lines: The basin can hold nearly 325 million gallons of stormwater, making the park a model for how "strategic partnerships can elevate infrastructure projects beyond their primary purpose," Tina Petersen, executive director, Flood Control District, said in a statement.
Follow the money: About $22 million of the funding came from public funds from Ellis' office, plus state and federal funding secured by State Rep. Alma Allen and U.S. Rep Al Green.
- Houston Parks Board secured nearly $8 million in private funding from The Brown Foundation. Texas Parks and Wildlife and Trees for Houston also contributed more than 670 native trees.