This story has been updated.
In Beacon Hill, one section of a 3.5-acre linear park in the neighborhood could be going to the dogs now that a city panel has given it the green light.
At a recent meeting of the Historic and Design Review Commission, the city presented plans for a dog park between Rosewood and Lynwood avenues in a residential area of the century-old neighborhood. The neighborhood block is situated between Michigan Avenue to the west and Grant Avenue to the east.
Commissioners approved the request without discussion.
Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and be ready for the lucky canines and their owners the following August.
At just under an acre, the site is one part of a 10-section linear park and trail that sits atop a stormwater drainage right-of-way and features walking paths, a playground and community garden. The city opened the first few lots in 2013, and since then, the trail has expanded to a little more than a half-mile.
“It was just a dumping ground when we first started this,” said Jerry Lockey, who serves on the linear park committee of the Beacon Hill Neighborhood Association.
A Neighborhood Conservation District, Beacon Hill is a residential area that began to be developed in the 1850s and continued through the 1930s, according to historic research posted on the neighborhood’s website.
Along with Alta Vista, it is one of the first modern platted subdivisions to be developed in San Antonio.
At the site of the future dog park, a few trees, a simple granite trail, signage and trash receptacles make up the greenway between several homes.
In its place will be a yard surrounded by a 6-foot fence with a double gate entry, separate areas for small and large dogs, water fountains and dog bowl fountains. Plans created by Dunaway landscape architects call for additional trees, a picnic table and a concrete path that will link to the trail alongside the park’s fencing.
Beacon Hill residents only recently have seen the plans on paper, Lockey said. Their approval comes next.
The committee will meet with the city’s Parks and Recreation and Development Services departments in the coming days to go over the plans and the budget.
“We don’t want to approve it as a neighborhood or committee without not only seeing how it’s going to look, but seeing what kind of costs we’re going to be using out of the bond money that we have,” Lockey said.
The council approved $500,000 for improvements to Beacon Hill Park in the 2022 bond, some of which already has been spent, Lockey said.
But delays in getting the work done have come about due to the COVID pandemic and the difficulty in getting supplies, such as trees and shrubs.
Lockey said the dog park plans also could need another round of approvals, this time from the Army Corps of Engineers because of the storm drain beneath the park.
The Corps of Engineers built the draining system, according to a spokesman for Public Works. “They’re going to need to inspect the drain at that dog park and see if we need to do any modifications,” Lockey said.
When completed, the dog park will be one of a growing number of dog parks in San Antonio. Find a list of some of those parks here and learn more about one of the newest parks in Bexar County here.
