League City council approves $150K mural to reflect city's lifestyle
Published: Wed, 09/13/23
League City council approves $150K mural to reflect city's lifestyle
League City officials on Tuesday approved a $150,000 mural at 100 Gulf Freeway N. Shown here is an artist’s concept of what the mural might look like. The actual design remains to be determined, city officials said.
Courtesy
The Daily News
By B. SCOTT McLENDON The Daily News
September 12, 2023
LEAGUE CITY - The city council Tuesday unanimously approved spending $150,000 for a mural on a shopping center wall along Interstate 45 at Main Street to artfully let drivers know where they are.
The mural, which will go on a 4,500-square-foot section of wall at Pecan Park Plaza, 100 Gulf Freeway N., could be complete by March 1. The city awarded graffiti artist Adam Socie the contract for the mural, which will serve as a gateway sign for visitors and a marketing/promotional tool for the League City Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“I’ve been to places where there is no art,” Socie said at the meeting. “I’ve been to the middle of Russia painting buildings, and it’s very depressing.
“Art is one of the few things where you really get a bang for your buck. You just get a lot from a little. It matters to me what it looks like,” Socie said.
“It matters that my wife’s going to tell me if she doesn’t like it. So, I’m going to do the best I possibly can.”
The agreement covers all design, supply and labor costs needed to create the mural from concept to completion, including a UV protective coat and anti-graffiti sealant, according to city staff.
Pecan Park Plaza, which is on the corner of Main Street and the I-45 feeder road, is in a highly traveled section of League City and is visible from I-45 when driving north, city spokeswoman Sarah Osborne said.
Baker Katz, the commercial real estate firm that owns the shopping plaza, has agreed to allow the mural to be painted on the south-facing wall, which runs parallel to FM 518.
Baker Katz, a Houston-based commercial real estate development firm, in June last year acquired the 108,000-square-foot center whose tenants include Dollar Tree, Jumping World Trampoline Park and Kolache Factory.
The final mural design will be approved by Baker Katz and the Keep League City Beautiful Committee before work would commence, according to staff. Guidelines provided to the artist would ensure the theme of the mural would reflect League City’s family and recreational lifestyle as well as the city’s natural beauty, official said.