Broadway between Hobby Airport and Interstate 45 may offer a first impression of Houston to first-time visitors, but not the one many civic boosters would like.

The 2 miles along the main road between the airport and the highway include strip developments and aging apartment complexes. Grassy medians along the road are scattered with few trees and shrubs. Little landscaping or lighting welcome travelers or residents coming home.

"Tired" is one word used to describe the area by Anne Culver, the president of Scenic Houston, a nonprofit working to raise $7.5 million to upgrade the area.

"You only have one shot at a first impression," Culver said. "For many coming to Houston, that first impression is Broadway. ... It's not welcoming."

Civic leaders envision a Broadway lined with oaks trees, flowers and shrubs in median. Gravel pathways and benches would be placed along the road in the now patchy esplanades. Art Deco-style LED lights would illuminate newly paved walkways and crosswalks.

The push to improve the street comes as Hobby is expected to bring an estimated 1.5 million new passengers annually into the area once its international terminal opens in the fall and as the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston nears.

The Broadway Corridor may be now be ripe for re-development that could reach into the larger southeast Houston area.

Already, the Texas Department of Transportation has begun a $17 million project to repave, reconstruct and upgrade the street itself. The existing pavement has cracks and patches overlaid with concrete to cover pot holes. The project will widen lanes and upgrade the drainage and pavement.All existing sidewalks and wheelchair ramps along the road will be rebuilt, replaced or added as needed.

The Houston Airport System is adding new landscaping and repaving roadways on its adjacent property. The City Council recently voted to expand the Gulfgate tax increment reinvestment zone to include Broadway. A TIRZ allows property tax revenues to be collected and funneled back into an area to pay for infrastructure and capital improvements, to, in turn, spur private development.

With that momentum, Scenic Houston and the Hobby Area Management District, the district set up to boost economic development in the area, say it's the right time to do whatever they can to make the area look as good as it can. They have set out a $7.5 million plan for trees and LED light fixtures up and down the roads. Along the esplanades, gravel and walkways would wind in between benches, flowers and the new lighting. Sidewalks would be improved. The groups are working to raise money from private donors and some funding will come from the management district.

"This was a great opportunity to step into the breach," Culver said. "If you're coming in from the airports, the first impression for miles is that the city is unattractive."

There has been talk for years of the potential for redevelopment, beyond just the immediate Broadway area. An Urban Land Institute study in 2011 concluded that the area has "good bones," with the right infrastructure for a flourishing community.

Historic district

Being near Hobby offers jobs of multiple income levels, bus ridership in the area is strong and blight is somewhat limited, the study concluded. The adjacent Glenbrook Valley became a historic district in 2011, ensuring stricter protections for the collection of midcentury homes. The neighborhood, which holds regular happy hours for the community, has seen home values increase and in recent years has attracted young professionals and families.

Yet, the greater southeast area has limited retail, few parks, recreation or green space along with some abandoned buildings.

Several meetings for residents and business owners in the area have been held, said Max Watson, a Scenic Houston board member working on the Broadway project.

He said the street improvements will help the perception of the city and the greater area. "Everyone agrees something needs to be done," he said. "What we are proposing is really terrific. Broadway is the gateway to the city. ... It's also great for homeowners to have a nice front door."

'A cool area'

Lance Gilliam, a real estate consultant and Urban Land Institute member who worked on the 2011 report, said some of the apartments built along Broadway in the 1970s and 1980s have seen little reinvestment.

"The area itself is a cool area. If you come out of Hobby and take a right or left in any direction, you run into middle income family homes and really solid neighborhoods," Gilliam said. "Just that particular corridor along Broadway, aesthetically, doesn't look so good. Changing the street's appearance will make a big difference."

In addition to money raised by Scenic Houston, some of the improvements to Broadway, will be paid for in part by the Hobby Area Management District, said David Hawes, the district's executive director. The district was recently formed to promote economic development in the area. It is funded by an assessment from commercial property owners. Hawes said the LED lights will be put up along Broadway. He said the district paid the difference for the pricier lights, which will likely be installed in the first quarter of 2016.

The district will also maintain the area's improvements once the street is revamped. Hawes and other leaders are optimistic the road will be ready for visitors who flock to town for the Super Bowl.

Hawes said it was possible that TIRZ funding would be used for the improvements to the street envisioned by the management district and Scenic Houston. The zone was redrawn recently to include an 8,000-acre area that includes Broadway, Bellfort Avenue, Telephone, Dixie, Long and Mykawa roads. The original TIRZ was created two decades ago to rebuild Gulfgate Shopping Center. The expansion was expected to increase the TIRZ budget by $84 million.

"This is critically important to the image of Houston," said Ed Wulfe, a local developer. He said attractive lighting, improved sidewalks and more trees would promote a more positive view of Houston.

Culver of Scenic Houston agreed, calling southeast Houston "the next big area" for both residential and retail growth.

"This is just a tired part of town that will be revitalized," said Culver. "Houston has been growing west for decades. It's now moving this way."