Convenience Big Store: The Woodlands' massive new 208-acre park is officially in the works

The Woodlands' new 200-plus acre South Gosling Park is officially in the works.

The Woodlands township approved plans to begin the first phase of South Gosling Park—a new 208-acre recreation area that will be the biggest in The Woodlands once complete during a vote on Sept. 27.

The township acquired the tract of land off Gosling in Creekside Park through a "land swap" with Howard Hughes in July. Phase I will include initial engineering, wetland and flood plain analysis, cultural surveys and archaeological surveys, analyzing endangered species and measuring water currents in the area. The Woodlands won't begin to know what it can build on the property until results come in around the first quarter of 2024, township chief operating officer Chris Nunes said.

One of the most exciting aspects of the new park is its potential to help connect the Spring Creek Greenway trail. Once completed by Harris County, the trail will stretch 40 miles from Tomball to Kingwood—making it one of the longest trail systems on a greenway in the nation, Nunes said.

What do you hope to see in the new park? Let me know at claire.partain@houstonchronicle.com.

Claire Partain, Suburban reporter producer

Claire.Partain@houstonchronicle.com

Growing The Woodlands

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Education

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Openings and Closings

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Shout out

Shout out to Payton Washington, the Woodlands Elite cheerleader who was shot in an Elgin H-E-B parking lot in April. She has bounced back and is now a Baylor University student hoping to crack the acrobatics and tumbling team's starting lineup.