Brick by brick: Acton Place Park fundraiser to aid in construction process

Staff writer

Rockin’ J Masonry work to install concrete headwalls on culverts during the construction of Acton Place Park, located at 360 Silverton Drive.

A fundraising campaign for Acton's new community park will allow Hood County residents to have their names immortalized in stone — essentially becoming a part of the park forever.

Acton Place Park is currently under construction at 360 Silverton Drive, with its board of directors working diligently to create a much-needed outdoor space for children and families of Hood County.

But in order to get the park completed, the Acton Place Park board of directors needs the community's help.

The Hood County Development District No. 1 donated $80,000 to the project. However, preliminary numbers in January 2022 estimated that the current master plan for Acton Place Park will require $1.5 million in funding.

"I think something that a lot of people aren't familiar with is the difference between a city park and a county park," said Todd Hall, president of the Acton Place Park board of directors. "The city park is being funded by city taxes that those folks who live inside of the city limits pay, and those are going back into those beautiful parks you see in Granbury. But when you're in the county, the county doesn't have a budget for a park that doesn't exist, so this is a grassroots effort to build something that the entire county can enjoy on that side of town."

As part of a community effort to fund the new park, the board has launched an engraved brick fundraiser.

Individuals, families, or businesses can become part of the park's construction by donating $50 to the project. In return, donors will receive an engraved brick with three lines of text and optional clipart choices of a flag, star, music note, butterfly, cross, and various sports symbols.

"The bricks will be laid in various places," Hall said. "Our plan is to have bricks in the garden area once Lot One is developed, around the raised flowerbeds, and then also potentially using them in sidewalks that cross over Silverton. (We want to use the) bricks as kind of a commemorative ‘thank you’ for the folks who are investing in the park."

The idea for the park began back in September of 2020, when a group of friends and neighbors came together to discuss the idea. In February 2021, a board of directors for the project was formed.

"The community really doesn't have anything that's in this area that has walking trails," Hall said, in a previous interview with the HCN. "Some of these commercial areas that you've probably been to in Fort Worth that have outdoor turf areas, and people are hanging out, playing catch, and they're doing outdoor movies — that's kind of the vision for this park is to have a multifaceted amenity area for families to be able to use."

The HCDD No. 1 purchased the land needed for this project off North Gate Road between the Main Place, Grand Place, and Acton Landing neighborhoods.

"The development district has budgeted $80,000 for seed money, so to speak, to get this initial phase of construction off the ground," Hall said.

With help from Rockin’ J Masonry, Bruce White, Hood County Road Operations, and Pro Earthworks LLC, several aspects of the project have already been completed.

Hall said culverts are installed, concrete headwalls on the culverts are put in, and the initial road base is completed.

As of May 30, Silverton Drive between Main Street and White Horse Drive is also officially closed. Residents may notice a few new signs on Clearwater Plaza as well, where the crosswalk will be installed.

The next phase, Hall said, will include installing turf and a sidewalk around Clearwater Plaza and Silverton Drive.

Hall said after those projects are completed, he hopes the brick engraving fundraiser will encourage local businesses and community members to donate so other amenities of the project can be built.

"We would love to do all of it, but we have to continue to partner with the community to fundraise for all the other elements," he said. "We would really like to see the dog park go in, but the pricing and fence is high, so we're hoping that a community partner will step up and help us out with the dog park as well."

Plans for the park include two playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, a garden, a walking trail, a dog park, a pavilion, restrooms, a concert stage with an inflatable movie screen, an area for food trucks, and a basketball court.

Hall said in addition to the brick fundraiser, the board is also putting together a donation benefit package, where Hood County residents can sponsor individual components of each section of the park.

"If someone said, ‘OK, well, I'd like to donate toward the dog park,’ and they'll pay for the fence, but maybe some others can't afford to do all of the fencing, but they could afford to do a watering station for the dogs or a park bench," Hall said. "We're working on ways to put a nameplate on those sorts of things as a ‘thank you’ as well."

He said the park will also have a monument sign made of chopped stone with an engraved wall containing names of donors.

"It's an exciting time for the people in Acton and on that side of Hood County to be able to benefit because there's really not another park in the area, aside from the ones that are in gated communities," Hall added. "We're actively looking for different partners in the community who are willing to step forward and help out. We're 100% dependent on the community's involvement in it because otherwise, there's no funding source, so we really are just encouraging anyone who has a passion for kids and the community to help us out in any way that they can."

To donate to the brick fundraiser, visit bit.ly/ActonPark. For help or questions on the fundraiser, email [email protected]. For future updates, follow the Acton Place Park Facebook page.

[email protected] | 817-573-1243

Staff writer

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