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The city of Houston recently rebuilt Broadway Street, the four-lane corridor that leads from I-45 to Hobby Airport. But the project didn't include landscaping.
So that's where Scenic Houston came in. The nonprofit raised over $6 million for improvements along the corridor. That included over 400 new trees, new lighting and crosswalks, and a walking path along the median.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says those improvements should make a strong impression.
“Even after the Super Bowl and those coming specifically for the Super Bowl have left our city, the improvements, the new look of Broadway, remains for all Houstonians who remain in our city," says Turner.
Much of Broadway is lined by apartment complexes that are home to hundreds of families, and many of those people get around by walking and using transit. And officials admit the neighborhood suffered from years of neglect.
Scenic Houston's Harry Masterson says he sees the improvements as lifting the neighborhood's spirit.
"And people are out and about and they're walking up and down and they see each other," adds Masterson. "It's a great central part of the neighborhood."
Based on the success of the Broadway initiative, Masterson says he's now hearing from other neighborhoods that want to take on the same kind of beautification efforts.