The gist
The $5.5 million in approved funding will be split between two parks projects.
Improvements coming to Towne Lake Park in east McKinney will bring a raised boardwalk system with a treehouse structure, colorful lighting through the wooded walking trails, an outdoor amphitheater, a splash pad and more.
The first phase of improvements will be implemented on the east side of the park and will include a new dog park, according to a presentation at the meeting. The total cost for the first phase of improvements is $6 million, with $3.5 million being sourced from the MCDC funding request. The remaining cost will be funded by bond funding and developer contributions, according to Parks and Recreation Director Michael Kowski.
The second project receiving $2 million is McKinney Greens to add new hike and bike trails. The park, also located in east McKinney, is a former golf course. The funding will add new hike and bike trails through McKinney Greens from Hwy. 5 to Eldorado Parkway that connect to trails systems in Towne Lake Park, according to the presentation.
“[This] is a connection to a whole bunch of other trails through Towne Lake Park that eventually gets you connected to other trails that get you up to Bonnie Wenk Park,” MCDC Board Member David Kelly said of the McKinney Greens trail project. “This is a huge and important connection to make to access a whole bunch of other trail networks.”
The trail project is anticipated to cost $3 million in total, with the difference in cost being supplemented by grant funding from Collin County, Kowski said.
What else?
MCDC board members also approved reallocating funds from previous parks fundings requests to new projects. The funds being reallocated were remaining balances from completed parks projects, Kowski said.
Nearly $48,000 was reallocated from the completion of the Parks Master Plan initiative and were redirected to a parks accessibility project. The initiative will assess every McKinney park for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Kowski said.
Remaining funds from the Prestwyck Park project totaling $80,000 were also reallocated for seating and shade improvements at the Grady Littlejohn Softball and Baseball Complex.
Board members also approved the decommissioning of the over-water obstacle course at the Apex Centre pool. The course was funded by an MCDC grant and opened in late 2021. The equipment is being decommissioned due to the cost of maintenance and challenges with equipment durability, Kowski said.
“The maintenance is proving to be too cumbersome and expensive,” Kowski said of the obstacle course. “To be fair, the programming has been a bit difficult. In fact, [the obstacle course] has not been down in the water since December, and not a single member of the Apex Centre has asked why.”
Learn more
To learn more about projects at McKinney-area parks, visit www.mckinneytexas.org/114/parks-recreation.
