Heath details Towne Center Park renovation, pickleball courts amid well rebid

Towne Center Park renovation in Heath has moved from mass grading and drainage into visible vertical construction, city updates show, with new playground equipment, improved baseball dugouts and an eight-court pickleball complex now on site. The Parks And Trails of Heath PATH program received a $200,000 donation from Bob and Kathy Tolbert that city documents say "ensured that six of the eight pickleball courts at Towne Center Park are shaded."

City timelines preserved in project posts trace the work back to a formal start: "The City of Heath kicked off the Towne Center Park renovation project with a Groundbreaking Ceremony on December 19." Progress notes posted April 1 recorded that "the new pond dug has been dug out with significant grading and underground work completed," and the city posted a December 18 Facebook update saying, "New amenities are going vertical at Towne Center Park, including improved baseball field dug outs, playground equipment and pickleball courts!" The project page was updated February 2 with a bird's-eye progress view described as covering work through January 2026: "We’re dreaming of warm, sunny Spring days in our renovated park! Here’s a bird’s eye view of the progress made through January 2026."

Design and delivery roles are identified in public summaries: Kimley-Horn is the project designer and Hill and Wilkinson is the construction-manager-at-risk. Project-level features listed by the city and partner agencies include expanded playgrounds, a performance pavilion or event stage, dugouts for ballfields, a splash feature, Festival Street designed for food trucks, a new pond, multiple sports fields and a plan to plant over 300 trees. The Heath Municipal Benefits Corporation lists the park renovation budget as "The park renovation budget is $12,835,902" and describes a broader financing partnership that will issue $30 million in bonds with the city to also fund a new Department of Public Safety station and a Public Works facility.

A critical dependency remains outside the park capital budget: Well Water #1, part of the City’s Water Bridge Plan, is meant to irrigate the park and add potable capacity. City records state, "One bid was received in July for Well Water #1... City Council rejected the one bid at its July 22 meeting and requested the project be re-bid with a construction schedule that would be more attractive to bidders." Public works staff framed the overall effort as primarily infrastructure: the project "was mostly a utility project," a summary attributed to public works leadership in meeting notes. Because the well will be paid from the Utilities Fund and planned bond issuance rather than the park budget, officials have warned that delays or higher well costs could force phased park openings or additional borrowing.

The public conversation has been active but modest in reach: the city's December 18 Facebook post recorded 154 reactions, 16 comments and 5 shares. For verification or project questions the city lists Bryan Creed, Director of Public Works, at bcreed@heathtx.com and City Hall at 972-771-6228; non-emergency DPS is 972-771-7724. Note that one published summary attributes the public works quote to "Brian Craig, director of public works," a name discrepancy that the city contact list does not reflect; reporters and residents seeking clarity are advised to confirm the current Public Works contact when requesting updated timelines, the status of the Well Water #1 rebid and which park elements can open without the onsite well.