With a respectful nod to community history, dozens of Aldine residents, elected officials, community leaders and staff of the East Aldine Management District recently celebrated the opening of a new three-story office building, amphitheater and expansive outdoor recreational facilities with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and mural unveiling.

(Watch a video summary of the event).

The Town Center complex additions are the second phase of a multi-million dollar project aimed at further economic development of the long-overlooked area located between Bush Intercontinental Airport and downtown Houston.

The 20-square-mile district of unincorporated Harris County has seen its hard-working, family-rooted population grow by 10 percent to 63,000 in the past decade.

“Make no mistake. This is not something the district is giving to the people. The people are giving it to the community,” said David Hawes, executive director of the management district, pointing out the District is funded by a sales tax.

“This is designed to be a place where people can have community meetings, talk face-to-face with sheriff’s deputies, and where their kids can play safely,” he added.

The 30,000 square-foot office building is surrounded by other community amenities, including the amphitheater and audience lawn, a playground with a splash pad,  a river-like water feature and a beautiful fountain in a flood detention lake. Wide sidewalks and lush landscaping, with trees and native plantings, meander through the complex.

The first phase of the complex included the Lone Star College East Aldine campus, BakerRipley and HOPE Clinic non-profit service centers and the new state-of-the-art Harris County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center.

The ambitious third phase of the project will be the development of 100,000 square feet of retail and commercial development space. Plans include a new supermarket.

The complex is already attracting new private commercial development, with the recent opening of a new gas station and convenience store across the street.

Joyce Wiley, board chair of the East Aldine Management District, said community leaders had long battled Aldine’s “in-between” status, since it is nestled between Houston and other smaller cities.

The community’s growth, demographics and location make it ripe for further commercial, industrial and retail development, especially as distribution centers and other enterprises take advantage of the area’s availability of land and proximity to the airport and highways.

“The people in this community have wanted a better life for so many years,” said Wiley. “It’s been full speed ahead, and the people are enjoying it.”

Hawes and Wiley paused to pay tribute to the late Gerald Overturff, a lifelong resident of East Aldine. Overturff, who died Oct. 20, served as board chair for about a decade. He called the project “The People’s Town Center.”

‘’All this area is really transforming,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. “So I look forward to seeing what’s happening here.”

“This is one of the best examples of a true partnership,” state Sen. Carol Alvarado said. “We have the private sector, you have multiple layers of entities of the public sector, and we ought to celebrate these types of partnerships.”

State Rep. Armando Walle, who grew up in the area, added, “For us it’s so important that the investment stays in the community. Those efforts will pay dividends with the human capital we are trying to create.”

“This is a family,” Walle said. “At the end of the day, we come together for the collective good of this community.”

Walle, a member of the Texas House Appropriations Committee, has helped secure $6 million in state funds for future development of a Nature Center and other amenities at the adjacent Keith-Wiess Park.

East Aldine residents won’t have to drive all the way to Memorial Park in Houston for healthy outdoor activities at signature park, Walle noted.

The grand opening festivities included the unveiling of a lobby mural depicting the history of the East Aldine area.

The mural, titled: “Building Community: The Story of Aldine,” was commissioned by the East Aldine Arts Council. It was introduced by Carlos Silva, vice chair of the management district board and chairman of the East Aldine Arts Council.

Silva credited local historians Mark McKee and Elizabeth Battle, who oversee the Aldine Museum, for their expert advice. The mural is a project of the Arts Council, UP Art Studio and artist Armando Castelan.

— by Anne Marie Kilday