Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy Receives $1.5 million Grant

May 25, 2022 - As part of a $12 million capital campaign to improve the Willow Waterhole Greenway, The Brown Foundation, Inc. awarded a $1.5 million grant to Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy on May 20, 2022. The Conservancy has raised $7.5 million to improve the 291-acre greenway in the Westbury area of southwest Houston.

The grant will be matched by the Kinder Foundation as part of its lead gift to the campaign. In November 2021, the Kinder Foundation committed $2 million to improvements with an additional $2 million on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Harris County Precinct One Commissioner’s Office has also allocated $2.5 million for construction of Willow Waterhole trails.

The capital campaign will fund construction of eight miles of trails around the six Willow Waterhole lakes, additional parking, construction of a pier, purchasing additional acreage, and developing a 15-acre native coastal prairie preserve where endangered plants have been identified. Neighborhood connections will also be added to the Greenway hike and bike system via easements. Construction on the trails will begin this summer and go through 2023.