On the heels of an inspiring conversation with the creator of a celebrated urban sanctuary in New York City, it is not inappropriate to hear local philanthropist Tom Meredith quote Henry David Thoreau.

It is, in fact, an utterly suitable reference by the man at the helm of an effort to revitalize the blighted Waller Creek into a lush and vibrant downtown Austin space.

Thoreau was, after all, a naturalist and transcendentalist whose most famous work, Walden, was a celebration of his simple life in the woods.

His are the right words, then, to communicate how Meredith, as chairman of the Waller Creek Conservancy, sees the project’s rebirth and redesign unfolding.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams," Meredith quotes on a Sunday afternoon, as we stand in the living room of his downtown Austin home. "Live the life you have imagined."

Then he adds in his own words, "I think this is our time to imagine what could be, and live it."

His comment came just after a presentation to the board by native Texan, artist and entrepreneur Robert Hammond, a figurehead behind the preservation and revitalization of Manhattan’s extraordinary High Line—a raised former railroad line that is now one of the world’s most innovative urban parks, as well as an embodiment of Thoreau's message.

Hammond, who lives in Manhattan, took a detour from his Thanksgiving visit home to swing by the board meeting on Sunday and answer questions from its members—who are, in effect, trying to emulate his success as founder and head of Friends of the High Line.

Waller Creek, which runs through downtown Austin, has long been stalled in terms of development because it’s on a flood plain. The city is building a tunnel under the creek that is expected to divert floodwaters and “turn on,” if you will, Waller Creek for renewal.

Founded in 2010 by local philanthropists Meredith, Melba Whatley and Melanie Barnes, the nonprofit conservancy seeks to fund and steward the comeback of Waller Creek.

If the actual design of Hammond's project isn't an inspiration in terms of appearances, its creative nature and pie-in-the-sky history does manifest the desire by the conservancy to build an art-and-design gem for Austinites that is anything but ordinary. Or even familiar.

Thoreau's advice refers to the enormous possibilities that are literally and figuratively built into Waller Creek—which currently bubbles dankly along a one-mile stretch from the UT campus to Lady Bird Lake, in all its eroding, flooding, polluting and needle-carrying glory.

It means, to put it even more bluntly, that Waller Creek will not bow demurely in the direction of its Southerly neighbor, the popular San Antonio River Walk.

Hammond, who grew up in San Antonio, is of the opinion that the famous River Walk is not geared enough toward locals for the type of project that could be envisioned for Waller Creek.

The board leaders appear to share that opinion—at least, to the extent that they’re hoping Hammond inspires an openness to unique ideas that might bring more to Waller Creek than an emphasis on tourism.

In short, the River Walk is a widely assumed but, in reality, a highly unlikely model for the Waller restoration.

The conservancy envisions a space that—like Millennium Park in Chicago—hosts hundreds of free public programs a year. Or like the vibrant and active Discovery Green in Houston, with its dog parks and recreation rentals. Or maybe like the High Line, with its food trucks and permanent art installations and skating rink that was once rented out by Alicia Keyes.

A Depression-era railroad originally built off the ground to save lives from deadly trains, the High Line would have been demolished had then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani had his way. But Giuliani was eventually thwarted by Hammond and similarly minded activists, and the rest is, literally, a piece of history.

In October, the High Line was given a $20 million donation by Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, proving that people are still investing in public space. It has inspired $2 billion in investments in the area in the last two years. It cost $150 million to create and has brought in more than $900 million in revenue to the city.

The High Line is the success story that the Waller Creek Conservancy is dreaming about.

All of this will take a while. It took 10 years from the moment that Hammond began his fight to preserve the High Line until the time it was opened in June 2009.

In Austin, the Waller Creek controversy has roiled for years, with fights over rate hikes, homelessness and similar issues. It is not a new issue in Austin, in other words.

Now that the tunnel is underway, it’ll be at least a year before the conservancy has a concept to present to the public.

Teams are competing right now for the opportunity to design the space. The deadline for applications is December 16th, with an open call for portfolios (click here if you’re interested).

It’s anybody’s guess at this point what the concept will be. But Hammond's visit signals a distinct direction that board leaders are obviously hoping to go—the direction of some innovator’s wild-eyed dreams, as Thoreau might have said.