A Play for All Abilities Park is becoming a reality!
Nancy Rabb and her son Cary help with the Play for All Abilities Park groundbreaking on May 19 in Rabb Park. Cary was joined by his wife and daughters. The City of Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department and the Play for All Foundation Board hosted a Ground Breaking Ceremony and Public Meeting for the City’s Play for All Abilities Park on May 19, 2011 at Rabb Park, the new location for this one of a kind park. | See Concept Plan (PDF)
City leaders, sponsors and Round Rock residents officially kick off the construction process and presented the final design plans for the new project. The park is expected to be completed by early 2012.
Groundbreaking coverage in the media:
Community volunteer day in the media:
The Play for All Abilities Park is a project that has been 5 years in the making and has truly been a community-wide effort. In 2006, the City of Round Rock was approached by Round Rock citizens Kenneth and Dennis Seymore to consider applying for a Boundless Playground Outdoor Grant. Although the City was not awarded the grant, the City Council realized there was a great need for a universally accessible park and added the project as a high priority project in the Parks Master Plan.
Two years later, the City was approached by Marge Tripp and Sunrise Rotary organization about installing an adaptive swing for children with autism. While the City agreed there was a need for areas for children with autism to play, the City remembered the need expressed during the boundless playground grant application process. With these two requests in mind, the City began development of a park plan that would provide ALL children, regardless of ability, with an opportunity to play and develop skills in a fun, outdoor environment. With that in mind, the City Council approved using a portion of Rabb Park for the Play for All park, as well as allocating $200,000 toward park construction to get the project started.
From there, the project grew to become a community wide effort. Members of local civic clubs joined forces and formed the Play for All committee and a 501 (c) (3) non-profit foundation (Play for All Foundation). The committee met regularly to fundraise and spread awareness throughout Central Texas.
The design for the park also became a community wide effort. City staff included professionals and
parents familiar with working with children with special needs in the design process. A Design Task Force of 30+ people was formed which included several parents of children with special needs along with professionals from different disciplines in medical, educational, and design fields. As a result of their input, the City was able to fine tune the design to ensure the diverse needs of all children. The park will include several pods each intended to develop specific skills for all children including Retreat Pod, Sensory Pod-Sand Box, Rock Band Pod, Rolling Hill/Performance Lawn, Sensory Pod, All Abilities Playscape, All Ability Swings and a Brushy Creek Village life skills area. When completed, the park will be 51,000 square feet of outdoor fun for children of all abilities!
The Play for All Foundation was able the raise more than $100,000 for the project. The Round Rock City Council stepped forward in April and authorized the remaining $300,000 needed to make the Play for All Abilities Park a reality. With the help of the community, awarded grants and in-kind donations and sponsorships from local businesses, the City will now be able to build a million dollar facility for $600,000.
Business partners include Nyle Maxwell Auto Group ($25,000), Wag-a-Bag ($25,000), Seton Medical Center Williamson ($25,000), HEB ($25,000), Chasco Constructors. These businesses have allowed the City of Round Rock to include replicas of their businesses in the Village Pod section of the park designs. This will allow kids to develop life skills in a park setting.
Additional sponsors include:
Rotary Club of Round Rock Sunrise ($10,300)
Grainger Foundation ($10,000)
Round Rock Dawn Buster Lions ($5,000)
Round Rock Noon Lions ($5,000)
Leading Ladies Giving Circle ($5,000)
Chaparral Women’s Club ($5,000)
Round Rock Noon Kiwanis Club ($5,000)
Hutto Lions ($5,000)
Round Rock Sertoma Club ($5,000)
Celebration Church ($5,000 in kind)
Baker-Aicklen Associates ($5,000 in kind)
Waeltz & Prete, Inc. ($5,000 in kind)
Studio 16:19 ($5,000 in kind)
BWM Group ($5,000 in kind)
Wal-Mart Foundation ($3,000)
Union Pacific Foundation ($5,000)
Greater Round Rock Community Foundation/People & Parks Fund ($1,000)
Austin Mobility Solutions LLC ($500)
Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union ($500)
The Emerson Foundation ($500)
Melograno, LLC ($500)
REI ($425)
Marine Corp League – Military Order of the Devil Dogs, Wilco Pound #311 ($250)
Union State Bank ($250)
Charles & Marta Katalenas ($250)
Great American Financial Resources, Inc. ($200)
Michael Verchot ($200)
Murffy’s Landscaping ($140)
Reavis Rehab & Wellness Center, Inc. ($125)
The Honorable Doug and Jamie Arnold ($100)
Laurence McGonigal ($100)
Rosemary Mutchler ($100)
Cathy Kincaid ($100)
Alice Stalling ($100)
Duckett Welding ($100)
Laurence McGonigal ($100)
Carol Tingler ($90)
Carolyn Pawelek ($50)
Gregory & Barbara Sells ($50)
Jennifer Wadley ($50)
Jennifer White ($50)
George & April Yurch ($50)
Bring Fitness Back LLC ($50)
Karen E. Yurch ($50)
K.E. Yurch ($50)
Diana Lott ($40)
Thomas Brick ($25)
Alexis Ferguson ($25)
Beth Burton ($20)
Carolyn ($20)
Dana Marruffo ($20)
Eclectic Images, Inc. ($20)
Erin Knuth ($15)
Shannon Stedman ($5)
The mission of the park is to provide a safe, fun place to play and develop new skills for children of all abilities in Round Rock and surrounding areas. The Play for All Abilities Park will serve the more than 100,000 children of Williamson County with an estimated 7,945 children with a disability.
This large gated park will include a variety of play opportunities designed to stimulate and encourage the development of several skill sets such as gross and fine motor skills, social interaction, sense of discovery, creativity and strengthening exercises.
The park is located at 151 North A.W. Grimes Blvd. The site is heavily shaded and tucked away from busy streets. The Brushy Creek Regional Trail will be accessible from the park (2012 - 2013 construction). The trail will connect Redbud Lane/CR122 to A.W. Grimes Blvd. and connects into the Greater Lake Creek Trail System.
Documents For donations and general information, contact:
The Round Rock Rotary-Sunrise Foundation
PO Box 690
Round Rock, TX 78680
or
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