Celina officials approve $22.5 million to create downtown park

City Council members in the North Texas town of Celina have signed off on developing a 9-acre urban park, called Ousley Park. The project has an estimated $22.5 million cost, with $14 million allocated to building the park and $8.5 million for restoring a nearby stream, called Doe Branch Creek.

Ousley Park’s master plan calls for a basketball pavilion, pickleball courts and an outdoor fitness center. The design also features a splash pad and an all-abilities playground, both covered by shade canopies, and a large fountain placed at the park’s main entry point. The park includes an open-air performance pavilion and a pair of separated spaces for large and small dogs.

The park also will feature art, athletics history and memorial walks, pedestrian bridges and a treehouse observation deck. The city will invest in the park’s greenspace by building community and pollinator gardens, preserving and adding riparian areas, incorporating open space and creating a nature playground.

Plans also include restrooms, pavilions and signage scattered throughout the park as well as multiple parking lots, perimeter fencing and a dedicated food truck area.

Plans call for incorporating the existing Bobcat Stadium and Ralph O’Dell Senior Citizen Park into the park’s design. The project also includes developing a 12-foot-wide regional trail system that loops Doe Branch Creek.

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