By Edmond Ortiz
San Antonio is moving forward with two separate recreational projects meant to boost a East Side neighborhood and Woodlawn Park area. Meanwhile, Boerne officials said they are making progress with the Northside Community Park improvement initiative.
East San Antonio
San Antonio City Council approved a March 5 meeting consent agenda item that allows the city to enter into an agreement and proceed with designing a community center and park at the intersection of Midcrown Drive and Eisenhauer Road.
Through council and Inner City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board approval, the San Antonio Housing Trust Public Facility Corp. received in 2024 a $2.9 million grant funded by the Inner City TIRZ.
The grant covered the purchase of an 8-acre tract at Midcrown and Eisenhauer, in the East Village neighborhood in council District 2.
After talking with local residents, conducting surveys and hosting public workshops, housing trust officials determined the best of the property – located near a Pre-K 4SA East school – would be an affordable senior housing development, a multigenerational community center and green open space with recreational amenities.
The pact approved by council on March 5 enables three city departments to collaborate with the housing trust to design the community center and park space at a cost of $2 million. The housing trust will be responsible for delivering the senior housing component.
District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said this is a prime opportunity to develop public amenities such as affordable senior housing, a park and a community center in an part of his council district that has seen an increase in industrialization and warehouses in recent years.
“It is an honor to have facilitated the acquisition of this property and to prepare a shovel-ready project that will yield tangible benefits for a community that has long felt neglected,” McKee-Rodriguez said in a statement. “We’re so excited to have made it this far and to see this project moving forward.”
According to city officials, design work will take 18 to 24 months to complete, and that construction of a community center and public park is dependent on future funding. The housing trust is also proposing native plant gardens, rain gardens, and a recreational sports area to complement the new senior housing, community center and park.
Woodlawn Lake Park
The San Antonio council voted Feb. 19 to let the city accept a $2 million Texas Parks and Wildlife grant, which will be used to develop a dedicated bicycle path around Woodlawn Lake Park.
Local bicyclists and neighborhood residents have long sought a protected bike lane around Woodlawn Lake Park, as cyclists are currently prohibited from riding on the existing trail around the lake.
Acceptance of the TPW grant will complement a $3.2 million grant that the city recently received, and the city’s 2022 bond program in order to support an array of planned improvements around Woodlawn Lake Park, including the bike path, a new splash pad, fishing nodes, terraced lake dock seating, and the installation of 400 new trees.
District 7 Councilmember Marina Aldrete Gavito, who represents the Woodlawn Lake Park area, said State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, helped to campaign for the TPW grant.
“Every member of the Legislature wants a park grant in their district. Not everyone gets one,” Fischer said. “These grants are hard to come by, but we really care about what’s happening (at Woodlawn Lake Park).”
Boerne
Lissette Jimenez, Boerne parks and recreation director, briefed City Council on Feb. 24 about ongoing bond-funded improvements at Northside Community Park.
Boerne officials said the park has developed in phases since the city’s acquisition in 2008; the park currently features amenities such as a skate park and practice fields.
Phase 1 of the current bond project, which began last September, is designed to expand park amenities to better serve residents of all ages and abilities, according to local officials.
Recent moves have included the pouring of concrete for basketball courts, excavation for the construction of restroom buildings, and the installation of sanitary and storm sewer lines and potable water lines.
City officials have also completed renderings of the planned splash pad and playground.
“It is nature themed, and it is all inclusive,” Jimenez said. “There are three zones in the splash pad that will serve as a great welcoming tool to families, depending on what the children are comfortable with.
