A rendering of Clayton & Little's vision for the Tudor Cottage - the park's oldest structure. The cottage at the south end of the park will be adaptively repurposed into a community gathering space
This is a transformational gift for Pease Park and for the entire community; the Moody Foundation’s leadership and generosity is unparalleled. This gift will enhance and preserve an Austin treasure for generations to come.
AUSTIN, Texas (PRWEB) October 30, 2017
Pease Park Conservancy today announced a $9.7 million grant from the Moody Foundation to support the organization’s long-term vision for the restoration, revitalization and enhancement of one of Austin’s oldest parks and the recreational spine of the city. The Moody Foundation’s transformative gift will help fund the implementation of the first phase of the Pease Park Master Plan, in the area commonly referred to as Kingsbury Commons, and will serve as the lead gift for a planned Capital Campaign to be launched by the Conservancy in early 2018.
“This is a transformational gift for Pease Park and for the entire community; the Moody Foundation’s leadership and generosity is unparalleled,” said Kristen Brown, Pease Park Conservancy CEO. “This gift will enhance and preserve an Austin treasure for generations to come.”
Unanimously adopted by the Austin City Council in October 2014, the Pease Park Master Plan sets out a comprehensive blueprint for the restoration and enhancement of Pease Park’s recreational, cultural and natural features. The plan features recommendations for new trails, more trees and picnic shelters, and thoughtfully spreads additional amenities throughout the park’s 84 acres, as well as increasing intra-park mobility. Pease Park Conservancy is in the process of selecting the design firm responsible for realizing the Master Plan and bringing this vision to life, which will be announced later this year.
The projects that comprise this initial work within the southernmost portion of Pease Park will have the greatest and most immediate impact on the park’s functionality and appearance. The area, referred to as Kingsbury Commons, is the recreational heart and cultural soul of Pease Park, and serves as the park’s welcoming front door– home to a children’s playground, splashpad, as well as the Historic Tudor Cottage and iconic historic picnic tables.
Projects within Kingsbury Commons will include:
- Increasing accessibility and enhancing the experience of the entrance and gateway of the park at the intersection of Parkway and Kingsbury
- The creation of additional children’s play features within the area, including nature-based playscapes, a new state-of-the-art water feature and the addition of a tree-house
- Adaptively repurposing the whimsical 1920’s Tudor Cottage into a community gathering space to accommodate birthday parties, family reunions and other activities, spearheaded by Clayton + Little Architects; as well as the addition of a gracious stone terrace to the north of the cottage to expand the space available for community use
- And the creation of a new multi-use facility – the Kingsbury Pavilion – built immediately north of the Tudor Cottage to serve as an additional area for community activities, with modern bathrooms and new picnic facilities to accommodate more people and larger groups.
“Pease Park is a beautiful and very treasured asset for the City of Austin, and the Moody Foundation is proud to support the Conservancy’s efforts to ensure that generations of Austinites can continue to use and enjoy this historic place,” said Ross Moody, Trustee of the Moody Foundation. “Pease Park truly is the ‘people’s park,’ a place for day-to-day enjoyment and respite, and this gift complements the Moody Foundation’s efforts to enhance parks and greenspaces across Austin."
With this instrumental grant from the Moody Foundation, Pease Park Conservancy is also in the process of launching a Capital Campaign to support the organization’s efforts as it continues to realize the vision of the Pease Park Master Plan and the future of Pease Park in the coming years.
“We are very pleased that this lead gift will help Pease Park realize the initial phase of the Master Plan, so that once design is completed, the project can break ground and the Conservancy and other donors can begin prioritizing the programming and sustainability of the park,” said Francie Moody-Dahlberg, Chairman and Executive Director of the Moody Foundation.
For more information about Pease Park Conservancy and Pease Park, visit peasepark.org/
About Pease Park and Pease Park Conservancy
Pease Park Conservancy was formed in 2008, and is dedicated to the rehabilitation, beautification and support of Pease Park, one of Austin’s oldest public parks and iconic greenspaces. Unfolding across 84 acres, Pease Park is a series of connected greenspaces running along Lamar Boulevard from West 15th to West 31st Streets, providing residents and visitors alike with an intimate, yet sprawling, natural amenity. Owned by the City of Austin, Pease Park is a public park maintained, operated and programmed by Pease Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.
About the Moody Foundation:
The Moody Foundation was established in 1942 by William L. Moody Jr. and his wife Libbie Rice Shearn Moody. Since its inception, the Foundation has donated more than $1.4 billion in grants across the state in support of its mission “to build a bigger, better Texas.” These grants have ranged from capital support for Moody Gardens in Galveston, to endowment and programmatic support for the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. The Moody Foundation is governed by a board of three Trustees – Frances Moody Dahlberg, Ross Moody and Elizabeth Moody. Learn more at moodyf.org
