CIVIC + RECREATIONAL

Site Development + Drainage + Traffic

Alief Neighborhood

Community Center +

Park Redevelopment

HOUSTON, TEXAS

A floodplain project that worked — because civil was there from day one.

THE SITE.

Project Overview

Alief Neighborhood Park + Community Center sits within the 100-year floodplain — a site that will flood again. The solution couldn’t look like a fix. It had to feel like a park.

Detention — disguised.

Ten detention ponds were woven through the park — not fenced off in a corner. Soccer fields were sized to hold water during big storms — then snap back to play.

Civil from day one

Floodplain rules, grading reality, utility conflicts, access pinch points — handled upfront. The architecture and park vision stayed intact — and the schedule stayed moving.

Stormwater quality — built into the landscape.

Bioswales and preserved woods clean and slow runoff before it ever leaves the site. Floodplain fill shaped the landscape — no berms for berms’ sake.

Above the waterline.

The center was elevated seven feet above natural ground — clearing the 100-year floodplain. ADA access feels clean and natural — no awkward ramps, no engineering bandaids

The result.

Floodplain sites can still feel effortless. When a soccer field pulls detention duty, it’s not a trick — it’s the simple fix that lets everything else stay true.

SCOPE.

Site development + grading

Floodplain mitigation design

Detention + stormwater quality strategy

SNAPSHOT.

Key Constraint

100-year floodplain – detention integrated into a park experience

Client

The City of Houston

Architect

(add)

Location

Houston, Texas

Site Area

36.7

Structure Size

63,000 SF

Completed

2022