HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Harris County commissioners could decide the fate of nearly nine acres of Hermann Park and whether or not it will become part of an expansion of Ben Taub Hospital.
The hearing and possible vote set for Thursday has been a long time coming.
ABC13 broke this story last July.
Ben Taub officials say they need the 8.9 acres of Hermann Park to better serve patients.
Over the past several months, ABC13 has heard the Harris Health CEO detail hourslong waits for people at Ben Taub’s emergency room and patients having to be attended to in the hallways because of a lack of space.
On Thursday, commissioners could condemn the land to make way for the expansion to happen, but of course, there are plenty of people against the idea.
The Protect Hermann Park organization says the plan is “misguided,” something that will cost millions of taxpayer dollars and that they say will be in the wrong location.
Commissioners said public meetings had to be held about the proposal; however, these meetings took place after the Harris Health board had already decided to proceed with the expansion through eminent domain.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia shared the following ahead of one of the community meetings in January:
“The general Harris County population, I do believe, was not engaged well enough, so that’s what this is all about. It’s not so much what I don’t know. I want to make sure the public understands what is being proposed,” Garcia explained.
The portion of the park in question is called the Warneke track. The Warneke family donated it to the City of Houston more than 100 years ago, and it was intended for park use only.
Real estate experts have told ABC13 that paying the Warneke heirs to use the land for a hospital could top $100 million.
Several heirs have also spoken out against the condemnation of the land.
If commissioners do decide to condemn that part of the park, Harris Health officials say the expansion project would cost $410 million.
They said building a new hospital at another location would cost $2.5 billion.
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This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.