Balcones District Park, established in 1977, is a 51 acre park located in North Austin. In 2016 the Balcones Park Community Group was awarded half a million dollars in grants and funds to make some much needed improvements to a park that had been untouched, but well used, for decades. These improvements included a new, larger playground and an adjacent pavilion. Due to the large scope of the project, the city required a park concept plan with community input before implementing any improvements. Neal Charles of NCLD, along with fellow designers Kim Gilbertson, and Kristy Street were tasked with creating a concept plan for the park. After several community meetings, surveys, a final plan for these amenities was approved in 2018.  Construction finally began in 2020, and the playground and pavilion were opened to the public in May of 2021.

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