A Plan for Pease Park’s Future

Keep Austin Beautiful Day at Pease Park (Photo by Jana Birchum)

On Nov. 2, the Pease Park Conservancy released the design plans for "Kingsbury Commons," as the formal entryway for Pease Park and the initial phase of the redesign and upgrade of the southernmost 13 acres of the park. The master plan includes expanded playscapes and exercise areas, an upgrade and expansion of the "Tudor Cottage" for public events, improvement for volleyball and basketball courts, and improvements to the plantings and natural landscape. Richard Craig, co-founder of "Trees for Pease" that began volunteer planting work in 2009, said the park had been "loved to death" and that the master plan will make the park "more functional for the public, and better maintained for the long term." The major project is being funded with a $9.7 million grant from the Moody Foundation and ongoing private fundraising, along with support from the city's Parks and Recreation Department. More information is available at PeasePark.org.