New 400-acre park in Montgomery to have a community, nature center plus several sports fields

A nearly 400-acre park featuring sports fields, pickleball courts, a skate and dog park, hiking and equestrian trials, gardens and an amphitheater is planned for the Woodforest community in Montgomery County.

In December 2021, Johnson Development Co. donated 391 acres to Montgomery County and Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley for Fish Creek Regional Park in Woodforest off Fishcreek Thoroughfare.

The goal for the park is to conserve and sustain the existing natural resources from native landscapes, wildlife habitats and watersheds, officials said. 

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During a county commissioner meeting in March, the court unanimously approved a $55,000 contract with Conroe-based Burditt Consultants LLC to work on plans for the park. At a Nov. 28 meeting, Burditt gave a preview of planned amenities for the project.

The park is expected to include a community and nature center, an amphitheater, a skate park, a dog park, hiking and equestrian trails and more than a dozen courts and fields for sports activities. 

County commissioners are attempting to build the park without any impact on property taxes and multiple entities involved are likely to fund the project, said Shane Howard, senior vice president of strategy and development for Burditt.

“This is a community park, first and foremost,” Howard said. “The goal is for everyone…to be able to have something to do with that park.”

‘Something that connects and brings people’

The park is expected to have 40 to 45 acres that can be built on with the rest of the park being nature-focused, Howard said. 

“(Montgomery County) is developing quickly,” he said. “So, the opportunity to take good, open and natural space and preserve that for the community is absolutely vital. The county bought this property with that in mind, keeping in mind that a good 80 percent of it is in a floodway. And the flood way provides the opportunity for trails, but you need something that connects and brings people to it.” 

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That’s where the park portion comes in, he said. 

The park is expected to have a total of three diamond ballfields, three multi-use rectangular fields, a dozen pickleball courts, a basketball court, a skate park, a dog park, a playground, a splash park, hiking and equestrian trials, interpretive gardens, and a nature and community center. 

The nature center will have an exhibit hall, indoor and outdoor classroom space, and a research library. The community center will have multi-purpose rooms and a catering kitchen. 

Many neighboring school districts and the Lone Star College System have shown interest in having a place where they can hold a classes,  Riley said.

Timeline to be determined

For six months, Burditt officials met with community leaders, stakeholders and and surrounding residents to get an understanding on what the wants and needs were for the park, Howard said. 

“All of these plans, like the nature and community center, Lake Creek Preserve was intimately involved in helping shape what that could be,” he said. “The community center portion is based off what we know for what kind of rent spaces are needed in the county, as well as if the county needs emergency response space or a voting location. They have that as well.”

Both centers have a potential to attract people outside of the area and bring sales tax and tourism dollars, Howard said.  

“We’re hoping that this thing will bring restaurants, sporting goods and maybe even hotels,” Riley said. 

Many community members are excited for the amphitheater, which could be used for community parades, he said. 

The budget for the park is expected to be between $50 and $75 million and an official timeline has not yet been established, Howard said. It will take roughly a year for the park to be designed, which would not start until mid-2024, he said. 

“This thing is not going to ever be self supported,” Riley said. “It’s just too much…but that’s what I’m willing to do to get a facility like this. And I think once we get this thing going, I don’t think there’s anybody that’s going to complain or have any objections doing what we’re trying to do.” 

The project could take five to ten years before it’s completed, Riley said. However, the interest for a park like this continues to increase, he said. 

“We got a lot of interest from private partnerships, corporations and some local business(es),” he said. “They’re all excited that we’re thinking as big as we’re thinking. And they’re just glad that we’re thinking about doing something over in that area, that’s desperate to have some kind of facility like this. There’s nothing like this anywhere around…and there’s a lot of excitement about this thing.”