Alief playground and south facade

The long-awaited Alief Neighborhood Center is nearing completion, as a team of design professionals, construction workers and City of Houston staff work to finalize the one-of-a-kind project at Alief Community Park.

The new public facility at 11903 Bellaire Blvd. will include three soccer fields, tennis courts, football fields, a baseball field, a skate park, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, an outdoor trail, an indoor track, a fitness center, an art garden, an outdoor pool, a playground, multi-purpose rooms, an event lawn and outdoor and indoor meeting spaces, including staircase seating in the lobby.

Alief indoor courts

The $52 million, 70,000 square-foot building in the 37-acre park will become the workspace for employees of City of Houston departments: Health and Human Services, Parks and Recreation, and a public library.

The two-story multi-service facility will also includes a Women, Infants and Children office and the relocated Hennington-Alief Regional Library on the second floor.

“We are excited that the Alief Neighborhood Center and Park is almost 95 percent complete,” said Enid Howard, chief of staff and contracts manager for the city’s General Services Department. “This project has been a true team effort with the Alief community and the City of Houston. It does not just raise the bar but sets a new standard.”

The development is moving at a brisk pace as workers pour concrete for the ample, elevated front and south porch, install countertops, install data/communication infrastructure and test and balance the HVAC systems. Next, they’ll pour the remaining site concrete, plaster the swimming pool and install the large exterior games and the fall surface around the playground.

“The Alief neighborhood Center will be a place with something for everyone,” Howard said. “The community can come together to learn, receive health care, create in the library’s TECHLink maker space, exercise, have family events, book a conference room for a small business, have festivals, and the list goes on and on.”

Alief Courts

Another big park attraction is three public art commissions that will be displayed at the center, slated to debut this summer. The works will debut with the facility opening and be added to the city’s Civic Art Collection.

Houston-area artists Bennie Flores Ansell, Falon Mihalic, and Red Thread Collective – Rakhee Jain Desai, Ami Mehta and Sneha Bhavsar created the art.

The facility is located in the International Management District, the Alief area is one of the most diverse communities in Houston, Howard said.

“We hope it’s a place where people from all ethnic backgrounds come together and share cultures and experiences in the Alief Neighborhood Center,” she said. “We expect to see increased visitation from the community as well as tourists to the Houston metropolitan area.’

No official ribbon-cutting date has been announced. The mayor’s office will spearhead the grand opening along with District F Council Member Tiffany Thomas and city staff.