Grapevine's 23-acre Settlers Park is about to get a major upgrade. The Grapevine City Council approved construction plans for Phase 2 of the park's development on September 1, setting up a $3.4 million buildout that includes paved paths, a completed fishing pier, a large group pavilion, a primitive camping area, and a kayak launch.
The project, first reported by Community Impact, still needs sign-off from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department before crews can break ground, since the state agency is chipping in $1 million toward the project. Grapevine Parks and Recreation Director Trent Kelley said officials hope to receive that approval in September or October, according to the outlet's report. Once cleared, construction is expected to take 10 months to a year.
Phase 1, completed in 2025 under a $3.3 million construction plan approved by the city in 2023, delivered the park's basic infrastructure: restrooms, a soft-surface trail, gravel parking, a boardwalk and a pavilion. That earlier phase leaned on a $500,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the same agency now backing Phase 2's construction with additional funding, per the same account.
How the City Is Paying for It
Grapevine plans to fund its $2.4 million share of the Phase 2 project through Tax Increment Financing Zone No. 1, which draws on property tax and new development revenues to support public infrastructure, the report notes. That local funding, combined with the $1 million state grant, rounds out the $3.4 million total the city submitted to meet the grant's requirements.
State grant money for projects like this one typically comes with strings attached. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant conditions require cities to keep funded sites as public parkland in perpetuity, and the agency's non-urban outdoor recreation grants reimburse cities for up to 50% of eligible development costs.
From Silver Lake to Settlers Park
The land beneath all this construction has an origin story stretching back years before the first shovel hit dirt. Settlers Park began as a 15.9-acre land and pond donation to the city from Grapevine Equity Partners, LLC, led by NewcrestImage Chairman and CEO Mehul “Mike” Patel, according to the Texas Recreation and Park Society. The donation included a natural spring-fed pond and surrounding wetlands, and the site was originally known as the Silver Lake Park project before being officially renamed Settlers Park in March 2019, when Grapevine secured its initial $500,000 state grant, the organization's records show.
Of the park's total acreage, 10 acres remain preserved as natural open space, home to mature woods, low-lying wetlands and the spring-fed lake, according to GoGrapevine. That leaves just six acres set aside for active construction and developed amenities, a split city officials designed to keep the site functioning as a natural oasis within an urban corridor. The park sits across from the intersection of State Highway 26 and Bass Pro Drive, adjacent to major commercial, hotel, and residential corridors near Lake Grapevine and close to retail hubs including Bass Pro Shops, per the same source.
New Trails, New Leadership
Once finished, Phase 2's paved paths will connect Settlers Park into Grapevine's citywide trail network, which spans more than 67 miles of trails linking over 1,000 acres of parkland, GoGrapevine reports. Kelley said the park will get a bigger advertising push once Phase 2 and its accessibility components are complete, with the finished amenities expected to draw more public attention to the site.
The buildout also arrives alongside a leadership transition at Grapevine Parks and Recreation. Kelley took over as director on August 7, following the retirement of 29-year director Chris Smith, after four years as deputy director and nearly 25 years with the city, according to KERA News. Kelley previously helped design the city's multigenerational community center, The REC. His arrival coincides with an update to Grapevine's citywide Open Space Master Plan, a strategic framework for park investments and trail expansion that City Manager Bruno Rumbelow commissioned to replace the city's 2018 plan, KERA News reports.
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project filings list an estimated total facility cost of $5.4 million for the overall Settlers Park buildout at 1701 State Highway 26, with Dallas-based La Terra Studio serving as the project's primary design firm, according to state regulatory records. Phase 1's restrooms, trail, and boardwalk were authorized through Grapevine City Council Ordinance No. 2023-062, which combined the $500,000 state grant with municipal Capital Projects and Quality of Life funds — the latter drawing on local sales tax revenue dedicated to city amenities.
