Downtown Redevelopment Authority has announced a new public park opening Downtown in 2020. The park, set to begin construction in 2019 with an opening date set for the following summer, will take over lots on San Jacinto, Fannin, Bell and Leeland Streets. The project is expected to service the 1,500 new residential units acquired in the past five years located in the south downtown area. The new park is apart of an initiative to reshape the southern part of downtown, with the new park being the next effort in changing the identity to attract new potential residents and foster new experiences for Houstonians to develop the community life. 

In other Houston related news:

• The Loken Group was recognized this week as the number no. 1 residential real estate team in the greater Houston area by the Houston Business Journal. The Loken Group achieved a $449.62 million sales volume to date in 2017. Last year, the team saw $300.62 million in sales volume earning them the no. 2 among residential real estate teams in Houston. This marks the sixth year the team has been featured on the Houston Business Journal’s Residential Real Estate Awards List. 
• Houston’s floodplain regulations have been elevated fter a vote by City Council on Wednesday. The new regulation adopts the Bayou City’s first major regulator response to widespread flooding after Hurricane Harvey last August. The new rules will take effect Sept. 1, meaning that all new construction in the city’s floodplains starting this fall will have to be built two feet above the projected water level in a 500-year floodplain. This marks the first time Houston is imposing minimum elevation requirements within the 500-year floodplain. 
• A new nonprofit initiative of HomeAid Houston, BuildAidHouston.org, provides Houston homeowners needed home repairs following Hurricane Harvey. The organization, partnered with $1 million from David Weekly Family Foundation, offers materials and contractors to decrease the price of rebuilding for homeowners. BuildAid also offers grant funding and flexible, low interest payment options to help homeowners pay for repairs. 
• A planning session led by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett discussed ways to better inform residents of potential flooding. The officials are trying to find a new way to warn the region of incoming floods described as a “reverse 9-1-1.” Emmett said he wants the project to be done in the “short term” considering that hurricane season is only two months away. Officials have also pointed issues with funding, that county revenue is limited to property and sales tax. The warning system’s cost has not yet been decided. 
• Carrington at Barker Cypress, a 330-unit multifamily apartment community at 7202 Barker Cypress Road was acquired by Waterton, a Chicago-based real estate investors and operator. Built in 2007, Carrington offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom townhome-style apartments ranging from 830 to 1,567 square-feet. The apartments are adjacent to Langham Creek High School and Holmsley Elementary School.