Improved amenities may be on the horizon for the 24-year-old Bear Branch Park in The Woodlands due to the creation of a new master plan for the facility.

The township’s board of directors has been working with Burditt Consultants to develop the master plan to determine what recommendations and projects may be carried out at the park in the future. Proposed recommendations in the five-phase master plan include increasing parking spaces by 166 spots, adding two tennis courts, a new recreational swimming pool, landscaping improvements and the addition of a proposed 50-meter swimming pool.

“Our task was to take input and see what staff was looking for and come up with a plan that’s reasonable for fiscal and physical space,” Burditt Consultants vice president Shane Howard said. “The township will make choices along the way in the normal budgeting process.”

On April 26, the township board voted to approve the $3.4 million Phase 1 project, which includes the new recreational pool, a renovated bathhouse to expand the bathroom capacity and landscaping improvements.

The new recreational pool, which could be open by summer 2018, would have up to four lanes and feature active water spray features, areas for swim lessons and a pool deck in the water for people to put chairs on, said Chris Nunes, township parks and recreation director. Funding for the new pool would come from a $1.3 million insurance settlement the township received this year following damage to the existing pool during last spring’s historic floods, Nunes said.

“One of the challenges with this park is that it’s not just a neighborhood park, it’s next to the recreation center, so there’s a lot of symmetry between the programs being done at the recreation center during the summer,” Nunes said.

Proposed phase 2 and 3 projects in the master plan include two tennis courts, adding batting cages, improving the dog park, installing new playground equipment, landscaping improvements and adding a new play surface, while Phase 4 includes a proposed 50-meter, 10-lane pool.

In regard to the final phase, Burditt Consultants recommended conducting a separate feasibility study related to the recreation center.

“It is such an important amenity, it has so many unique features so you could go for a utilitarian model or you could go the other direction to something with indoor aquatics and even higher square foot cost where it becomes more of a community center than a recreation center,” Howard said.

The funding sources and timeline for the remainder of the phases is uknown.