The Greater Southeast Management District (Houston Southeast) along with Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority – TIRZ 7 has selected a leading global design firm Stantec to conduct a Livable Centers Study for Houston’s Old Spanish Trail (OST)/Palm Center area. The firm will evaluate the area and identify opportunities to promote transit-oriented development, improve connectivity and mobility, preserve historic resources, and stimulate economic growth. The project aims to create an actionable plan for Houston’s Greater Southeast Management District (GSMD) that will make OST/Palm Center a more equitable and sustainable community.

Established in 2008, the H-GAC’s Livable Centers Program aims to create places where people can live, work, and play with less reliance on cars. The program works with local communities to reimagine auto-focused infrastructure policies and concentrate more on multimodal strategies.

Stantec will lead the project management, as well as the mobility, placemaking, urban design, and planning and implementation elements of the study. The firm will develop a 10-year conceptual plan to maximize development opportunities for multimodal circulation and enhance development initiatives, mixed-income housing choice and affordability, community health and wellbeing, resiliency, and placemaking.

Stantec has a proven track record of supporting H-GAC’s Livable Centers Program. The firm led the Livable Centers Study for Houston’s International Management District. The study created a plan that helped the district connect its residents, improve transit access, and enhance community aesthetics and quality of life while expanding economic opportunities and creating a safer, more inclusive district.

The Stantec team estimates that it will complete the OST/Palm Center Livable Centers Study and implementation plan by September 2022.