Woodlands debuts $1.5M splashpad
Days after unseasonably warm temperatures hit Texas, The Woodlands unveiled its $1.5 million “destination splashpad” to ring in the spring season.
The 4,000-square foot sprayground is up to five times the size of The Woodlands’ six existing splashpads, Parks and Recreation Director John McGowan said.
The sprayground’s Thursday debut coincided with the start of the facilities’ spring season, which began Friday.
“Kids and adults alike are going to have a fantastic time with this,” township president and chief executive officer Monique Sharp said.
Spraygrounds allow children to enjoy a playground-esque experience through summer’s triple-digit heat, assistant director of parks and recreation Pamela Woods said in August.
The new facility boasts animal-themed, multilevel water features, including a bear in honor of the park’s namesake, and is intended for the community at large, McGowan said.
“We’re actually kind of labeling it as a destination splashpad,” McGowan said in August.
“The other splashpads ... they’re really for those neighborhoods where they don’t have a swimming pool, it helps to fulfill that need, but this one, it’s kind of like Northshore Park, where the whole community will come.”
After adding the sprayground, an awning for its multipurpose courts, and a new batting cage, the Bear Branch Park Master Plan that began in 2017 will be complete aside from a proposed expansion and renovation of the Recreation Center.
The township is also moving forward with a traditional playground at the Bear Branch sports fields across the street from the park. The township’s board of directors awarded just under $435,000 to two entities to construct the playground.
The board approved a new men’s restroom, two family restrooms and storage facility at the sports fields in January. Four artificial turf fields will also be replaced this summer, McGowan said. After the playground is constructed, the $1.5 million playground and restroom project will have $412,440 left for demolition, construction and additional amenities.
Playground construction is set to begin in July and is expected to be completed by September. The Woodlands’ spraygrounds opened Friday and remain open through October.