Having raised $400,000 of the estimated $1.2 million needed to construct tennis courts and a swimming pool at Unity Park, city officials in Magnolia are looking toward interim financing to obtain the money needed to start work on the project this fall.

Obtaining interim financing—which is essentially a loan taken out from a bank—involves demonstrating to the lender that the city has the resources to maintain the facility while paying back the loan over time. Deborah Rose Miller, Magnolia's economic development coordinator, said taking out a loan may be a financially prudent move if it helps get the construction process started soon.

"If we obtain interim financing at a low interest rate, it would probably end up saving us money because construction costs are lower than they will be two or three years from now," she said.

The city also plans to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The department, which discontinued its grant program due to budget cuts last year, recently started seeking applications for grant money to help develop local parks. Roughly $1.15 million is available for outdoor recreation grants, with an Aug. 1 deadline to apply.

"They decide who to award the grants to based on a scoring process, so right now we're compiling all our information and putting it in the format that they want it in," Miller said. "We'll find out in January if we qualify."

In the meantime, Miller said the city can start working on construction plans and putting the project out to bid. However, when the city can start construction depends partly on the regulations for the Parks grant.

"Typically with grants for new facilities, they won't be awarded if the project has already been started," she said. "We can start the planning, but before we start construction we have to make sure it won't make us ineligible. That's something we're checking into."

Miller said she hopes to get the project started in the next few months, provided it does not jeopardize eligibility for the grant. Once construction begins, the project is estimated to take six months to complete.

The city's plans involve building four standard size tennis courts as well as four quick courts and an Olympic-sized pool. Plans for the recreation center have been put on hold due to cost.