(Seguin) — A new community park is coming to an area north of Interstate 10 in Seguin. The park and trail system will be part of the large Walnut Springs subdivision near Rudeloff and Huber roads.
The Seguin City Council on Tuesday agreed to hire RVi Planning and Landscape Architecture to handle the architectural and landscape design work for the project.
Parks and Recreation Director Jack Jones says it is an exciting project for the city. He says Seguin has long wanted to develop another community park on the north side of town.
“So, our parks master plan identified a large community park north of interstate 10 back in 2020. Up north of interstate 10, it’s pretty much HOA (homeowner association) parks. Some have them, some don’t. There’s a need for a Park West type park up in that area and also a Starcke Park kind of park up in that area. Now, we don’t have the land of Starcke Park, and we don’t even have the land of Park West. But the goal is to have similar amenities to what is south of Interstate 10. So, the folks that live north of Interstate 10 don’t necessarily have to drive down to the dog park in Max Starcke Park, (we can) have one north of Interstate 10,” said Jones.
More than 1,000 new homes are planned for the Walnut Springs subdivision. The development will also include commercial and retail space, along with land that the city will use to build a new fire station. Jones says the park is needed in that fast-growing part of Seguin.
“North of Interstate 10, a lot of subdivisions are going up. Some HOA parks, and some don’t. But it’s really fortunate that with the Walnut Springs subdivision that’s coming in, there is some developer money or in-kind services being a part of it. There’s also bond money that’s been sold for the past couple of years. And if we need to, we can dip into the (city’s) Park Development Fund to get the park that we need (and) to have all the amenities listed in your packet north of Interstate 10. I’m really looking to get a splash pad up there, large pavilion, soccer field, (and) multi-use practice fields can be in the floodplain,” said Jones.
RVi previously worked with the city on its pickleball project. The firm has also worked with Bitterblue, the developer of the Walnut Springs subdivision. Jones says RVi emerged from a highly competitive selection process as the top choice to design the new community park. RVi will be paid $587,000 for the design work.
Planned amenities include trails, a splash pad, lighted pickleball and basketball courts, large and small picnic pavilions and a large, all-inclusive playscape.