Plano's Parks and Recreation Department will soon have a new home.

The department will move into new offices in spring 2015 at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, 5901 Los Rios Blvd. The offices will also be attached to a facility that will house a new visitor's center and nature center at the northern end of the park.

While the visitor's center and the nature center have been in the plans for years, the attached offices concept is a relatively new idea, said Amy Fortenberry, director of Plano Parks and Recreation Department.

The department had planned to build the centers in 2009 with funding from the 2005 bond referendum. However, the department did not have enough funding to operate the centers, Fortenberry said.

"[The Oak Point Park plans] sat on the shelf with a few other projects, and we kept looking for opportunities to bring it forward," she said.

The project returned to the table earlier this year after the city decided to redevelop the building that houses the Parks and Recreation Department into a commercial and residential space, Deputy City Manager Frank Turner said. With the redevelopment of the property, the department would have to make a move, and city staff decided to bring the offices project back up, which will cost $5.5 million.

Because a full-time staff would be working at the building, operational costs were no longer an issue, Fortenberry said.

"We've got money that's available because of the bond funding to build the facility," she said. "Now we'll have resources 40 hours a week to staff it as well as to provide the maintenance of the facility."

Fortenberry said the department has an "aggressive" timeline to finish the building by spring 2015. The park will remain open while the facility is being constructed. The new centers will host various outdoor programs, classes and provide space for group retreats.

"It really is a win-win because there are quite a few residents who have been waiting on that facility patiently since it was approved in 2005," Fortenberry said.