HOUSTON—The first segment of Park Row was developed in the 1970s in Park Ten by Wolff Companies, which envisioned the need for an alternate route to the Katy Freeway. The final mile connector project broke ground in 2013 and was opened to traffic earlier this month.

The four-lane thoroughfare that runs parallel to the Katy Freeway (Interstate 10), now stretches continuously from Dairy Ashford Road at Interstate 10 and continues to the west, through business parks, the Texas Medical Center–West Campus and into Katy. The newly completed segment, the “missing mile,” provides an important alternative route to the Katy Freeway and will open up public transportation options for those who work, live and play in the Energy Corridor.

The project included the design and construction of Park Row from the intersection of the Interstate 10 HOV/tollroad access ramp at the Addicks park and ride lot to the thoroughfare's existing terminus just west of the intersection with North Eldridge Parkway; a four-lane bridge over Langham Creek; water, sanitary sewer and storm water drainage infrastructure; and street lighting and landscaping. The two-phase project was facilitated by a public/private venture between the Energy Corridor Management District and the city of Houston.

“The completion of Park Row not only represents a dramatic improvement in transportation in West Houston, but also Houston's can-do attitude. This was a very complicated project which required many different businesses, organizations and governmental entities to work together to ultimately increase economic activity and quality of life,” said David S. Wolff, chairman and president of Wolff Companies. “We are celebrating more than the completion of an important thoroughfare which has become one of the best business addresses in Houston, we are celebrating the collaborative spirit that built both this road and West Houston.”

Business and community leaders recently gathered to celebrate West Houston's growth and Park Row at an event hosted by Wolff Companies and The Energy Corridor District. Highlighting the event was a panel of business and government leaders–key architects of the West Houston community–who praised the public-private partnerships that have been vital to West Houston's past and continued growth. The panelists unanimously listed excellent schools, high-quality and affordable housing, and jobs as the essential ingredients that fostered the growth of West Houston.

Park Row is home to some of the largest corporate headquarters in Houston, including ConocoPhillips, Worley Parsons and Mustang Wood Group. More recently, it has become a new address for some of the city's best medical institutions–such as Texas Children's Hospital and Houston Methodist, which own land on both sides of Park Row in Wolff Companies' Ten Oaks, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which owns land on both sides of Park Row in Wolff Companies' Central Park and is now constructing a new facility there.

“There is a $1 billion investment within four miles,” Carolyn Wolff Dorros, executive vice president of Wolff Companies, tells GlobeSt.com. “Park Row has become an address with cache. Not only did ConocoPhillips move into higher-quality buildings there, but Shell also moved 3,400 employees into the Energy Corridor. In the long term, this connector allows access to older buildings with redevelopment opportunities.”

Wolff Companies' developments also include Beltway, Interwood, Westway Park and First Crossing.

Instant Insights /

Long-Awaited Missing Mile Means Redevelopment

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