An inclusive playground and places to fish and play soccer were among the priorities that found support this past week at a visioning session for the future regional park at the former Floyd Casey Stadium site.
Waco Parks and Recreation joined architecture firm Design Workshop for the session Thursday.
This empty field across Clay Avenue from the Floyd Casey site is expected to become part of a new park, along with the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex and Bell’s Hill Park.
The city has committed more than $20 million for the park that will take in the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex on Clay Avenue, with $12.5 million slated in this year’s budget.
The park will complement the Turner Brothers’ $100 million redevelopment of the 77-acre former stadium site across Clay Avenue. But Parks and Recreation Director Jonathan Cook said the park won’t just be for the surrounding neighborhood.
“It’s just such an opportunity in terms of park development for our city, the fact that we’re able to have 30 to 40 acres here right in the heart of Waco,” he said.
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“It’s a great neighborhood that deserves just a great park, but this is a park for everyone in Waco. We want it to be a destination where you come and it has a dynamic, inclusive playground with a great trail system, but you’re in the heart of the city but along Waco Creek where you can still feel you’re in the middle of nature.”
Conners Ladner, a principal with the city’s chosen design firm, said the purpose of Thursday’s meeting was to introduce the community to the design process and gain feedback on residents’ priorities.
The design team’s process begins with visiting and walking the site multiple times, analyzing comparable projects and compiling an overall vision before the project hits the drawing board, Ladner said. The goal is to finish the visioning by February, with ideas presented to city staff and residents later this year, he said.
Information presented to attendees Thursday included Waco’s history, including the history of the site; maps of current and planned parks and trails; how similarly sized parks have been programmed; and typical park users and demographics. Another map of the site’s topographic character can help guide proper placement of features based on drainage, slope, soil character, tree cover, impervious cover and flood plain.
“One thing that’s really exciting for us is just going through and understanding the history of a place, so not just the site, but the history of Waco, which has such a deep, interesting, exciting history,” Ladner said. “And when we go through hour design process, it’s about finding things that are special to Waco, so you’re not going to see this project, this park, anywhere other than in Waco.”
Ladner said the project has an opportunity to become a hub for trail connectivity.
Cook said the city recently finished its citywide master trail plan, “and when you think of that bicycle analogy, a bicycle wheel where this is a hub with the spokes coming off of it, it really lends itself for a lot of future connections and we feel like this is that foundation that we’re laying to be able to build off of that.”
Ladner said an inclusive playground compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act has emerged as a priority for the park.
Cook said inclusivity is a top priority, as well as celebrating South Waco’s Hispanic community.
“We also see this as an area that we can honor the Hispanic heritage here in Waco,” Cook said. “Being in South Waco we feel that it’s a very important in being a gathering place for our community. And lastly, it’s a recreation hub as well. It does have the current track and field complex, which we’re going to be doing some renovations, so what we’re looking at are some different amenities to add to the style of recreation to where families can come and enjoy an evening.”
At the meeting attendees placed stickers around the room next to items they would like to see. Soccer was a popular offering, as well as pickleball. A sports hangout area with small courts and seating areas gained some attention, and residents indicated they would like to see fishing programs, utilizing a potential lake on Waco Creek.
Patricia Valdez and her daughter Grace, 10, who live on Burnett Avenue attended the meeting excited for new opportunities in their neighborhood.
“We’re really excited for the kiddos,” Valdez said. “We have four kiddos and so we’re really excited to see the new development, the new ideas they have. I mean, so far it looks awesome.”
Valdez said the park will be a positive addition to the area and serve as a pillar to bring the Hispanic community together.
The park would also be a benefit for public health with lots of potential trails and walkways, she said. Grace said she’s excited for walking trails, as it’s her favorite activity at the park, and she looks forward to the scenic views and nature.
“It’s a win-win all the way around,” Patricia Valdez said.
Having an older daughter with special needs, Valdez said she hopes to see an inclusive playground at the park.
“We’ve gone to parks in Austin and San Antonio to kind of get her out there to see what it’s like, but we’d like to … walk to one from our home. That would be awesome,” she said.
A survey was launched at embracingplaywaco.com for those who were not able to attend the meeting and would like to offer input. Another public meeting will be held on Dec. 12 as well to take ideas and concepts to paper, Cook said.
City Parks and Recreation Director Jonathan Cook gives a presentation to the Waco City Council on April 19, 2022.
