Click2Daily: Visiting Bellaire's new Evelyn's Park

BELLAIRE, Texas – It's been eight years since the land changed ownership, but the brand new Evelyn's Park Conservancy is finally open in the city of Bellaire.

The park, located at the corner of Newcastle Drive and Bellaire Boulevard, is five-acres of green-space, running trails, playing area for kids and picnic tables.

"We love the park," said Christine Dodson, a Bellaire resident. "The kids come down here. This is like, we call it the 'sixth-grade hangout.' It's close by so we know where (my children) are at. It's safe. It's fun."

Today for my #Click2Daily digital story we are exploring the fairly new Evelyn's Park! Here's a taste:

Posted by KPRC2 Jake Reiner on Tuesday, May 23, 2017

We caught up with Dodson in the middle of training for a triathlon, and she said the running conditions at the park are perfect.

"When we run intervals or any long-distance on concrete it's really bad for your joints, your bones, your hips, your knees," Dodson said. With the gravel, it really gives you that energy that you need to maintain your bones and your body."

Evelyn's Park replaced the longstanding Teas Nursery, which established itself in Bellaire in 1909. Teas Nursery began landscaping big projects like Rice University and, by 1951, the business had planted more than one million trees in the Houston area.

In 2009, after Teas closed, brothers Jerry and Maury Rubenstein bought the land. The pair gifted it to the city of Bellaire and, in exchange, they made city leaders promise to turn it into a park and name it after their mother, Evelyn.

@KPRC2 A little bit of history about #EvelynsPark and #TeasNursery! @KPRC2 #Click2Daily pic.twitter.com/PDLKn2yWi7

— Jake Reiner (@JakeKPRC2) May 23, 2017

While most people we spoke with loved the park, some wanted to hang onto the past a little longer.

"I have mixed feelings about (the new park)," said Bellaire resident Richard Adams. "I'm still not sure."

Adams has lived in this city since 1976 and he said he used to bring his kids to Teas to look at the plants and trees.

"In some ways I guess that's true," Adams said. "You want it to be the way it always was, but, no. I like the idea of having a place that people can use."

Click or tap here for more information about Evelyn's Park.

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