Ruffino Hills Redevelopment

Ruffino Hills Redevelopment (9600 Ruffino Road) Advocacy and renewed effort since 2011. See Ruffino Hills for updates.

The City of Houston purchased 73 acres on December 7, 2022; COH purchased  the remaining 75 acres on July 9, 2025. The Friends of Keegan Bayou Trail and Park was founded in anticipation of the 2018 Bond Election to mitigate flooding. The COH named Ruffino Hills as a potential detention basin. We requested a meeting with Mr. Costello, COH Chief Resilience Officer, immediately after the election in August to inform him that the 130 acres has an estimated 25 acres of natural area of woodlands and ponds on the southern border at Ruffino Road.

We advocate for a multi-purpose detention/park use in the   natural area. The site is an ecologically sensitive property with hardwood, tall pines, and ponds. The Park will support open space values and long-term conservation. This is consistent with the Park Smart survey that gives high priority for natural areas in Brays Oaks District. NTTSW members presented to Brays Oaks Management District’s Beautification Committee meeting and received their support for the detention basin and park initiative. This Park combined with the detention basin could create a regional park similar to Arthur Storey Park and Willow Waterhole Greenway, each five miles from Ruffino. We value the importance of engineering in designing retention ponds to support aquatic vegetation, wildlife, and potential for bird rookeries.

2021 June 7
Professional environmentalists toured the ponds to make a baseline list of plants and wildlife.

2018 August 29
The City of Houston Chief Resilience Officer, Stephen Costello met with Friends of Keegan Bayou Trail and Park. Our agenda was to discuss the former Ruffino Hills Golf Course as a Detention Site for Southwest Houston. Our discussion centered around a previous 450-page Environmental Study. Mr. Costello gave us next steps to advocate for the property to become a detention site. Our City of Houston District J Councilman, Mike Laster attended the meeting with Friends Mike Bercu, Pat Dorsey, Gerda Gomez, Skip Reeder, and Sharon Young.

2020 July-December
TIRZ-20 funded Houston One Voice for the Ruffino Hills Economic and Environmental Resilience Study T-2055 to begin July 1. An engineering study of Ruffino Hills property and a stakeholder’s survey was in the project. Sustainability research centers at Rice University and the University of Houston participated in the study and survey to determine the appropriate use of this 130.7 acre open green space along Keegan Bayou Trail. Michael Bercu, Sylvester L. Skip Reeder III, Dr. David Abraham, AICP and University of Houston Dr. Bruce Race, FAIA, FAICP. The 55-page final report and video are no longer available online.

Houston One Voice formed a working group of local residents and staff from TIRZ 20 and the Southwest Management District, Brays Oaks Management District, International Management District. The Working Group met six times during the process to set overall objectives, review alternatives, and refine the preferred concept.

TIRZ 20 has made a concerted effort to assess and plan for a robust parks and trails system. Regardless of the types of development and detention on the site, the community sees this as an opportunity to connect the Keegans Bayou trail system and to create a natural park. The plan is for the park and trails to provide access to Keegan Bayou walking and biking trails for people of all ages and abilities.

Emphasis is on the development of park space that provides access to restored natural wetlands, prairie, and pine woodlands. The legacy landscapes of the former golf course include ponds and trees. The five ponds in the southeast portion of the site are imagined as a nature park with educational and recreational activities for the larger community. The natural green space will be available for programs already developed with significant partnerships such as educational opportunities and cultural art.

2022, December 7
Houston City Council voted to purchase 73.08 acres (3,183,410 square feet) of land from the City of West University Place along the 9700 block of Ruffino Road for $10,509,460. The land, located along the southern bank of Keegans Bayou, will be used for the Ruffino Stormwater Detention Project and represents a significant step in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s goal to purchase open green space to convert into regional stormwater detention. COH purchased the remaining 75 acres for exchange services and funds to Bellaire on July 9, 2025.

http://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/press/2022/land-purchase-protect-community-storms.html