The following is a press release from Ted Nelson, Media and Production Coordinator, Public Information Office, City of Corpus Christi
The City of Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to announce that it has received word that the Oso Bay Learning Center and Wetland Preserve project has been approved to receive funding from two state grants, totaling $1.6 million.
The Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) Coastal Land Advisory Board (CLAB) has approved a grant application for $1.5 million in Coastal Impact Assistance Program funds, as well as additional funding by the Coastal Coordination Council for $100,000, through the Coastal Management Program.
The Oso Bay Learning Center and Wetland Preserve is one of the projects approved by Corpus Christi voters as part of the 2008 Bond Program. It will be located near the intersection of Wooldridge Road and Oso Parkway.
Once it is completed, the 161-acre park will include a Green Learning Center, wetlands, a walking and nature trail, an amphitheater, bay and wetlands overlooks, a nature playground, walking bridges with connections to Oso Bay, and a camping area. In addition, the park will provide improved ADA accessibility.
“This is really great news for our area,” said Michael Morris, City Parks and Recreation Director. “We would like to thank the GLO staff and CLAB members, as well as Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, Buddy Garcia with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and of course, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, for considering and approving the award,” Morris said.
The grant funding must next be approved by the Governor’s Office and will ultimately go before the Corpus Christi City Council, for final approval in accepting and appropriating the funds. Parks and Recreation officials say it’s expected that construction of the project will be getting underway sometime toward the end of 2011.
“A great deal of work has been done in pushing this project forward,” Morris noted. “With that in mind, we would also like to thank the City’s partners in the project, including the Mayor and City Council, Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Trust for Public Land, Harte Research Institute, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas General Land Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, and Hogan Homes.”
The land for the park includes properties that were originally owned by the Carr and Gaines families, who worked with the City to set the land aside to help make this project a reality.
For more information visit the Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation website at:
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