In August 2010, a Northside Livable Centers Study was prepared for the GNMD and the Houston-Galveston Area Council. The study recommended that Irvington Boulevard have a central, landscaped esplanade/boulevard for safety and beautification reasons (the area had overgrown and unmaintained planting strips). It was decided that the esplanades located at Irvington and East Crosstimbers were prime candidates for the Adopt-An-Esplanade program, a project of Keep Houston Beautiful, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and the Texas Forest Service.

McDugald Steele is a landscape architectural, construction and management company headquartered in Houston. The firm relocated in July 2014 from the Houston Heights to East Crosstimbers Street in the Greater Northside Management District. McDugald Steele collaborated with the District to enhance the urban environment along the Irvington and East Crosstimbers esplanades.

This project was funded by GNMD, McDugald Steele and Avenue CDC. The first phase of the project was completed in December 2016 with the installation of the irrigation system and landscaping, including nine Mexican sycamore trees, 106 New Gold Lantanas and 37 Katrina African irises. The second phase of the project was completed in 2019 with additional irrigation connections and landscaping, including 201 New Gold Lantanas and 62 Katrina African irises.