Friendswood Mayor Mike Foreman delivered his State of the City Address on Thursday, highlighting the city’s progress over the past year and outlining his priorities for the upcoming year. The Mayor’s speech emphasized public safety, infrastructure improvements, and the recent surge in residential and commercial development.
In his address, Mayor Foreman highlighted the city’s continued commitment to public safety, touting the recent “Safest City” rankings in which Friendswood was named the 4th safest city in Texas. The Mayor praised the city’s police department for their work in reducing crime rate, which currently sits at 6.27 per thousand, and emphasized the City is currently seeking to fill a couple open positions in the police department.
“Friendswood is a safe community, and we intend to keep it that way,” Mayor Foreman said.
Mayor Foreman also discussed the city’s plans for improving its roads and infrastructure. He highlighted the recent refinishing or roads like Bay Area Boulevard, Townes Road, Murphy Road, and others. He outlined plans for upcoming projects aimed at improving traffic flow and reducing congestion.
Finally, the Mayor outlined the many new developments that are under construction around Friendswood including residential developments like the new Avalon neighborhood, which will bring roughly 300 new homes, and the expansion of the Friendswood Trails and Sterling Creek neighborhoods. The Mayor also emphasized the construction of the new Fire Station 2, which will support the increase in residences
In the commercial construction realm the Mayor discussed two new projects currently underway by Tannos Development: the mixed-use complex next to the Friendswood Library at 408 South Friendswood Drive and the new medical building behind Chick-fil-a at 1715 South Friendswood Drive. Both projects will add tens of thousands of square feet of office, retail, and apartment space. The new boutique hotel, One Sixty One, being developed in downtown Friendswood by Banfield Properties was also introduced during the presentation.
In closing, Mayor Foreman took a moment to honor a Friendswood Legend: Dr. Rebecca Hillenburg. Hillenburg has served the community in many capacities, most notably as a member of the FISD school board, Chair of the Friendswood Downtown Economic Development Committee, and as a Board Member for Hope Village.
