A fresh batch of renderings released by Midway paints the clearest picture yet of what’s planned for the 136-acre former KBR campus that stretches along Buffalo Bayou, between Hirsch Rd. and Jensen Dr. Cobbled together from a mixture of glass and other materials, the tallest structure shown in the image at top spikes up behind a lower-slung retail building that fronts a junction of walking paths intersecting in a central park. You can see a further-away view of the airy column, foregrounded by street-level retailers in the view above.

A confection-colored map put out by the developer last month included a long strip of green along Buffalo Bayou’s north bank reserved for park space.

It’s now reappearing in the view below from up above the waterway:

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Within the park, 2 bridges connect a trailblazing new waterfront pathway to the hike and bike trail that already exists on the bayou’s south side. In terms of bikeability, Houston Planning Commission member Bill Baldwin said on June 7 that he’d spoken to the developer about including cycling lanes in the planned park.

No final word has arrived yet on that proposal, but streetwise the commission did manage to narrow down a few items on its agenda — granting permission for most of the new local roads criss-crossing the site to span 50, as opposed to the usual 60 ft. across and shortening the distances between intersections from their typically required minimums.

Renderings: Midway

Great Glass Spike