Large Presidential Statues to Anchor Texas Destination, Mixed-Use Development on Waterway, Historic Land Development Announces
April 04, 2007 11:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Presidential Park at WaterLights, featuring large-scale 18-foot statues of all 42 U.S. presidents, is projected to draw 2 million people annually to a new entertainment/real estate development in the city of Pearland.
The presidential busts will be surrounded by pleasant water features and a navigable canal, said Richard Browne, principal of Historic Land Development LLC of Houston.
“The Presidential Park will provide an ideal setting for new restaurants and shops,” Browne said. “The presidential statues will be a significant tourism draw, creating a lot of customer traffic for the businesses that locate there.”
The presidential statues are the work of internationally acclaimed artist David Adickes. The Houston-based artist is known in Texas for his 67-foot statue of Texan legend Sam Houston on Interstate 45 near Huntsville.
The 50-acre WaterLights District mixed-use development will be located on Highway 288 at the future South Spectrum Boulevard, just south of Beltway 8. The project, opening in summer 2008, is 12 miles south of downtown Houston. Some 5 million people live within 35 miles and a factory outlet center is being developed within the WaterLights District™.
The presidential statues, made of concrete, each weigh 7,000 pounds. Two other sets of presidential statues by Adickes have been installed in Williamsburg, Va. and in South Dakota. Several locations were considered before Pearland was selected as the ideal spot for the third set, which will be the only location in Texas to have an Adickes installation of presidents.
After the next election, Adickes will create a bust of the 44th president for the Pearland development. (Grover Cleveland served non-consecutive terms and is counted as the 22nd and 24th president.)
Carefully planned by Browne and planner Donald Bauer of Irvine, Calif., the statues will be situated to produce an exciting presentation that will encourage visitors to stay for hours. Hotels, retail stores, office spaces and residential condos and brownstones will also be developed.
Browne has designed a number of noteworthy projects around the world, including The Woodlands, Texas and Columbia, Maryland.
“Some developments rely on carousels or food courts to draw customers. But we believe that art will make Presidential Park a lasting attraction,” Browne said
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