Sparky Park

NUNA will have a park where the old North Austin substation was housed on Grooms Street. This will happen through the Parks and Recreation Department's (PARD) Adopt a Park Program, which is in partnership with the City.

Sub Station

Rick Iverson, Ryan Beard and Mary Ingle have met with the PARD and Austin Energy representatives about this project, affectionately known as Sparky Park. NUNA will need to raise funds for installing and maintaining the park for the long term; to support this effort, NUNA will apply for non-profit status (501 and 501 3c).

Site Opportunities

large size
protected from street
in view of neighbors
building with potential
trees
open space
flat
only possible park in area
quiet

Sparky Park Update
by Douglas Plummer

NUNA members of the Sparky Park Planning team met March 6 with representatives of Sprint and the Austin Parks Department (PARD) to review the status of the Sparky Park project. Those in attendance were Kristen Bryant and Scott Patterson of Sprint, NUNA members (Rick Iverson, Douglas Plummer, and Mary Ingle), and Austin PARD Project Manager, Tony Arnold. Patterson and Bryant of Sprint showed the engineering design for the revamped communications equipment site which includes the replacement tower site. This replacement tower will house both Sprint as well as the T-Mobile relays. The site will include the existing Grande cabinets in the front easement. An engineering design of the protective wall/art wall that will be built to block the view of the communications equipment was also reviewed. (See sketch to below).

Preliminary estimates are that construction of the wall and the relocation of the replacement tower will start March 21 with completion of the communications site on April 16, 2007. The communications site ties into existing T-1 lines that run off of the old substation building; NUNA committee members agreed that a future effort should be initiated with AT&T to move those lines off of the historic building directly to the communications site.

Art Wall

Sprint indicated that they had sent four years of advanced rent payments (which will be used for the park) to Austin Energy as previously agreed; they also promised to follow-up with T-Mobile for the payment of their portion of monies. Arnold noted that the receipt of funds from Austin Energy (AE) is the last hurdle for hiring a landscaper or an architect/landscaper team and initiating the final design phase of Sparky Park by PARD.

Arnold also stated his hope that the site would have so little impervious cover so that it might qualify for a site plan exemption; this would definitely speed up the approval process for the project in 7-10 days. If the site and the design exceeded the impervious cover limits, PARD would need to submit a full site plan which could impede the process as long as 6 months. After the meeting, AE confirmed that payment by both parties had been completed. AE was trying to transfer a payment voucher to PARD but was having difficulty due to the lack of a budget submittal to the City by PARD.

NUNA members also discussed the possibility of obtaining grants to refurbish the substation building which was just granted historic landmark status from the City Council on March 22; several contacts and sources of grant funds were identified. Those individuals wishing to help with Sparky Park are encouraged to contact the Chair of NUNA’s Sparky Park project, Douglas Plummer, douglas_plummer@hotmail.com

Sparky Park Location

Sparky Park Charrette

NUNA has sponsored three charrettes, or park planning sessions with the expertise of Robin Abrams and Simon Atkinson, both professional architects. The first session on April 2, 2005, generated much enthusiasm from the neighborhood and a diversity of park ideas, most of which were tranquil and passive, in nature.

Goals for Design

compatibility with neighbors
limit impervious cover
pedestrian and bike access mainly
NUNA community center
Art in Public Places
mix of uses
easy to maintain
restrooms
no night use
focus on families
affordable to build and maintain
community garden
playscape
stage
rainwater harvesting
basketball hoop
gazebo
coffee bar
pergola at entrance
benches under shade

First Sparky Park Charrette

At the second session held on May 28th, 2005, Simon and Robin revealed three compositions for this park. The three options are shown below.

In addition, Steve Sadowsky, the City's Preservation Officer, has initiated the process for designating the existing substation building as historic, since the building is the only example extant in Travis County. After Austin Energy completes remediation, which entails the removal of asbestos and lead paint, NUNA will be able to use this building for a meeting place.

The final planning session, or charrette was August 27, Saturday from 9 am to noon at the A.G.E. Building, 3710 Cedar, in the dining room. This was a chance to revise and compose a fourth park plan that incorporates elements from the other three plans.

Simon Atkinson, 3rd Charrette for Sparky Park
Simon Atkinson points out a design feature
at the final planning session, August 27, 2005