25 February . 2026
Elyson’s Ted Nelson Memorial Park honors visionary developer who made schools a priority
Dedicated in a ceremony attended by family and colleagues, Ted Nelson Memorial Park honors the legacy of Ted Nelson, who led the Houston and Texas operations of Elyson’s developer for more than 50 years.
“It’s no accident that Ted Nelson Memorial Park is located next to Elyson’s newest Katy ISD school, Boudny Elementary,” said Jennifer Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for Brookfield Residential.
“You’ll see this kind of thoughtful design throughout Elyson and our other communities, because Ted believed that kids and families should never be far from a park or a school, or a trail that leads to one,” said Taylor, who led the dedication ceremony.
Nelson led the development of communities throughout Texas and other states, but he made his greatest impact in Katy, beginning with the launch of Cinco Ranch in the early 1990s, followed by Seven Meadows and Grayson Lakes. He worked closely with the Freeman family to purchase the land for Elyson, opened in 2016.
In all, the Katy communities created under Nelson’s leadership will have more than 23,000 single-family homes and 16 Katy ISD schools when Elyson is completed.
According to Katy-based land planner Kerry Gilbert, Ted changed the trajectory of Katy’s future much for the better in the crucial growth era of the early 1990s, putting strong neighborhood schools at the forefront of his priorities.
“Ted raised the bar and set the stage for all the development that has occurred in Katy since the earliest planning for Cinco Ranch began in the 1980s,” said Gilbert, who worked closely with Ted over four decades.
A place for children
Located at the northeast corner of Katy-Hockley Cut-Off Road and Elyson Boulevard, Ted Nelson Memorial Park has a playground with a soft mulch surface and a shade structure to help kids stay cool during warm weather.
Residents can play games and gather on the open lawn area, stroll along the trail, and explore a butterfly garden with native pollinator plants.
Picnics are encouraged, with several picnic tables, including a shaded ADA accessible table.
It also has an enclosed octagonal pit for gaga ball, a fast-paced, high-energy sport often described as a kinder, gentler version of dodgeball.
The park is surrounded by several large existing live oak trees, along with newly planted pines, cedar elms and Shumard oaks. Native grasses and flowering trees such as crepe myrtles and fringe trees add seasonal color throughout the year.