Briercliff Park Master Plan

Great News Dentonites!

This past August the park planning team submitted a grant application to Texas Parks and Wildlife for consideration. There was a total of seventy-nine (79) applications submitted with only twenty-two (22) being selected for award. Today on January 25, 2024, our application was one (1) of the twenty-two (22), that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission officially approved. Click here for the TPWD meeting agenda item

The application we submitted provides a total of $750,000 eligible for reimbursement towards the creation of the master plan improvements which includes the addition of a splash pad, new playground, restroom facility, skate spot, addition of trail, parking expansion, and new landscaping. Per the latest master plan estimated cost ii 2023, the total cost of all of these improvements is estimated at 2.8M.

We couldn't be prouder of this accomplishment as this is the third year in a row that our team has attained this specific grant. To learn more about the grant program click here.

• 2021 - Villages of Carmel Park
• 2022 - Bowling Green Park
• 2023 - Briercliff Park

Be on the lookout for more information coming soon!

On August 1, 2023, the City of Denton Parks and Recreation Department submitted a grant application to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)(External link) for improvements at Briercliff Park. The grant program covers up to $750,000 and the application review process normally takes 4-6 months for notification. If awarded the program has an extensive process of approvals through the National Park Service. Ultimately, taking 12-18 months to receive the notice to proceed for construction.

The proposed grant will partially cover expenses for a new splashpad at Briercliff Park, enhanced trail, playground replacement, addition of skate spot, and enhanced parking.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

On January 24, 2023, the Briercliff Park Master Plan was approved by City Council.

McAdams and staff are currently working on finalizing the construction documents for the approved Master Plan. Staff will then submit/receive approval from the Denton Development Review team to receive “Shovel Ready” set of documents. Staff anticipates having these items completed by July 2023

Staff is also currently assessing grant opportunities that best fit the scope of the project. Stay tuned for more information.

Through a series of multiple public outreach events and comments through this platform, staff and McAdams was able to prepare a final recommendation for consideration of approval. The feedback received from the community was great in providing a final plan and consisted of the following amenities to be considered:

• Tennis Court
• Skate Park/Spot
• Shift the basketball court N/S to avoid sunset on the east & add another court
• More trees and plants
• More picnic tables, shade, and seating
• Sand Volleyball court
• Exercise amenities throughout the trail or dedicated area
• Public Art

City staff and the consultant assessed the comments that will best fit the current design and budget. From the direct comments, staff incorporated the following into the design (see below): Skate spot, additional landscaping (trees/plants), more picnic tables, shade, and seating. If funding allows staff, will consider the other requests made.

Below is the process that staff is currently conducting to officially approve the plan.

• On January 6, 2023, staff provided City Council with an informal staff report providing all the findings related to this project. (Report can be downloaded in the Documents folder on the right of this page).
• On January 9, 2023, staff presented to the Parks, Recreation, and Beautification board the final presentation that highlighted. Information regarding the attachments and presentation can be found at the following link, Meeting Agenda (granicus.com)
• January 24, 2023, the Briercliff Park Master Plan is on the City Council Agenda for consideration of approval. The item is listed under the Consent Agenda Item D, ID #23-110. Information regarding the attachments and presentation can be found at the following link , Meeting Agenda (granicus.com)

If Council approves the final plan, the McAdams will finalize the construction documents in preparation to submit/receive approval from the Denton Development Review team to receive “Shovel Ready” set of documents. Staff anticipates having these items completed by July 2023 to have the ability to submit a grant application for a potential funding match to Texas Parks and Wildlife by August 1, 2023.

Over the last month, Parks and Recreation has attended multiple events such as National Night Out, PARKing Day, Denton 360, Twilight Tunes, and Arts & Jazz Festival. The community has received over 500 votes for splash pad components to be featured at the park. See the table below to view the current results.

In addition, the community has suggested the following ideas to be featured in the Briercliff Park Master Plan.

• Tennis Court
• Skate Park/Spot
• Shift the basketball court N/S to avoid sunset on the east & add another court
• More trees and plants
• More picnic tables, shade, and seating
• Sand Volleyball court
• Exercise amenities throughout the trail or dedicated area.
• Public Art

Staff anticipates continuing the outreach efforts and will attend Twilight Tunes, Denton State of the City, and will feature an open house in December. An event list will be featured soon!

To give additional feedback, leave a comment below or submit an idea to the Idea tab listed above.

From June to August 2022, McAdams Co. has led several staff meetings and conducted a site analysis of the existing park with Parks and Recreation staff. McAdams produced an initial conceptual rendering for community feedback through these meetings and assessments. In addition, the Development Services Review team reviewed the initial conceptual plan and provided input to McAdams Co.

On September 1, 2022, the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) held a virtual community input meeting and presented the conceptual renderings. The meeting had limited attendance, however feedback received was positive. The community meeting was recorded and is available below or at the following link, https://youtu.be/L5H0AhrCUOk. PARD staff is scheduled to present the conceptual design to Park Board on October 3. In addition, staff is identifying additional dates to conduct in-person community meetings.

McAdams Co. and PARD have put together a survey to capture splashpad amenities, and any other features that are desired by the community. Please go to the following link to access the survey, https://forms.office.com/r/Qmn62DD6ia.To provide feedback or questions click here.

The Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled a virtual public meeting for the Briercliff Park Master Plan. The Park Planning staff and Consultants have been working diligently on identifying a conceptual plan and are excited to share the information. Additional details will be posted closer to the meeting date. Please join us and help shape the future of our Parks!

This meeting is scheduled to take place on September 1, 2022, at 6 PM

How to Join the Meeting:
To register in advance for this webinar, click the link. https://cityofdenton.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_26nE6VsESZuVUYntiD8ZJQ

Residents are encouraged to sign up for the virtual meeting at least 24 hours before receiving the meeting link. The City will provide special accommodations, such as sign language interpreters for the hearing impaired if requested at least 48 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting. Please email parksnrec@cityofdenton.com so that accommodation requests can be reviewed and processed.

Residents unable to participate are welcome to submit input within the Ideas or comments feature in this platform or email them to Gary Packan, Director of Parks and Recreation, at gary.packan@cityofdenton.com.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact staff.

On May 17, 2022 City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with The John R McAdams Company, Incorporated, for professional design services for Briercliff Park.

McAdams will work with the Parks and Recreation Department to produce an agreed upon plan through public engagement and board/commission feedback. Based on information gathered from the public meetings, McAdams Co. will produce a final conceptual plan, provide construction cost estimates for the final plan, create the construction documents, and assist Parks and Recreation with grant writing.

Staff and McAdams Co. will initiate an internal kick off meeting to develop a visionary plan for the project schedule. Staff expects to conduct the first public meeting around late summer/early fall. Meeting information will be provided as soon as dates are confirmed.