Ensemble/HCC station

Ensemble/HCC is a light rail station in Houston, Texas, United States. The station is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) and serves the Red Line of its METRORail system.

Ensemble/HCC
General information
Location	Northbound: 3509 Main Street Southbound: 3604 Main Street Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°44′21.96″N 95°22′43.62″W
Owned by	Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	Two island platforms
Tracks	Two
Connections	METRO: 9, 82, 291
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	January 1, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-01-01)[1]
Services
Preceding station METRORail Following station Wheeler toward Fannin South Red Line McGowen toward Northline Transit Center/HCC
Location

The station is located in the Midtown neighborhood at the intersection of Main and Berry Street.^[a] The station is adjacent to The Ensemble Theatre and two blocks west of Houston Community College Central Campus, which together give the station its name.

History

In 2001, METRO broke ground on its first light rail line, which passed through Midtown along Main Street. Plans for the line included a station at Berry Street due to its proximity to a Houston Community College campus.^[4]

METRO staff tentatively named the station Berry/HCC.^[5] Following this, two local organizations, namely The Ensemble Theatre and Trinity Episcopal Church, requested that their names be incorporated into the station, proposing the name Holman/HCC/Ensemble/Trinity.^[b] The proposal had the support of Houston mayor Lee Brown. Due to concerns about the name's length, the METRO board ultimately settled on Ensemble/HCC, which was approved by a 4-3 vote. This was the only station name that was changed from METRO's original proposal.^[6]

The station was opened on January 1, 2004 as one of sixteen inaugural METRORail stations. An opening ceremony at the station featured jazz music, theatrical performances, tours of Trinity Episcopal Church, and a live remote broadcast by KMJQ.^[1]

In 2007, METRO purchased two blocks of land on the western side of the station for $7.2 million. The land was purchased on behalf of developer RHS Interests, who planned to build a transit-oriented development on the site.^[7][8]

In April 2013, a BCycle bike sharing kiosk was installed at the station.^[9]

Notes

1. The station is located within both the Midtown Super Neighborhood^[2] and the Midtown Management District.^[3]
2. Holman Street is directly north of the station.

References

1. Wall, Lucas (January 1, 2004). "New ride for the new year: Festivals mark inaugural day for Metro train". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. pp. A1 – via NewsBank.
2. "Super Neighborhood Resource Assessment: Midtown" (PDF). Planning & Development Department. City of Houston. pp. 3–4.
3. "Midtown Land Use & Development Map" (PDF). Midtown Houston. Midtown Management District. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2008.
4. Sallee, Rad; Christian, Carol (April 1, 2001). "Rail means big changes for Main corridor: Line to disrupt routines of `stakeholders'". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. pp. A31 – via NewsBank.
5. Sallee, Rad (July 25, 2001). "Metro ready to name 16 rail stations". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. pp. A10 – via NewsBank.
6. Sallee, Rad (July 27, 2001). "Metro names rail boarding stations: One stop recognizes black theater group". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. pp. A27 – via NewsBank.
7. Sallee, Rad (April 6, 2007). "Metro can't have it both ways, tax officials say: It likely has to pay levy on land it's holding for private developer". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. pp. A1 – via NewsBank.
8. Sarnoff, Nancy (June 1, 2008). "Investors have deal to buy Midtown land from Metro". Chron. Hearst Corporation.
9. "Houston Bike SHARE Program Expands Fleet To Include 21 B-Cycle Stations". City of Houston. April 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013.