The City of Early Town Center Project was the recipient Monday of a $50,000 matching grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.  The check presentation was made at 1:30 pm at the future Early Town Center site, which is to the north of Early Blvd, from behind the new CEFCO store to behind Humphrey Pete’s.

According to Mayor Robert Mangrum, the LCRA grant will help the City of Early realize a goal of beginning to develop the park portion of the Early Town Center.

“It will help us with interpretive signs, an outdoor classroom and, of course, that goes a long way towards developing the park. Then, of course, on the other side of the pond is going to be the development of the apartments, restaurants and commercial area. We’re in the process of getting to that point where we can actually start selling the lots. All of this is a step toward realizing a dream when we purchased the acreage,” Mayor Mangrum said.

Making the presentation on behalf of the LCRA was Phil Wilson, CEO.

“LCRA is really committed to our communities and we do a lot of transmission projects up this way. In many ways we’re part of where the Colorado River begins and feeds itself down to Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis. Being committed to those communities we want to give back, so we have a program doing about $2,000,000 a year in giving back to communities through the matching grant program. The $50,000 grant is the largest grant we give, we only do three of those every year and Early got one of them today,” said Wilson who is a 1986 graduate of Brownwood High School.  Prior to joining LCRA, Wilson was executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation.

“This is a really exciting project and we’re very proud of partnering with them, excited about the overall vision. It will help with education and outdoor awareness for students and young people as part of this with the walkway and it’s a great conservation project too, so a really great day for Early and Brown County,” Wilson said.

According to the City of Early website, on Tuesday August 10, 2021, the Early City Council approved the Town Center Recreational Master Plan. After much consideration and after taking in as much public input as the city could, below is the approved master plan.

This master plan consists of several recreational amenities to include batting cages, a lighted walking trail, a one-acre dog park, a lakeside recreational area with a playground, benches, picnic tables, and a pavilion/stage for family gatherings and outdoor events.

In addition to the land based recreational amenities, the City of Early is currently working with Texas Parks and Wildlife to construct a 5-acre neighborhood fishing pond which will include two lighted fishing piers. Once the pond is reshaped, TPWD biologist working with the City of Early will build enhanced habitat for the fish and aquatic life. This will aid in the growth and reproduction of the fish that live in it. After filling the pond, it will be stocked with native sporting fish and provide an opportunity for anglers in the community to have a high rate of catch.

You can learn more about the Early Town Center Project by clicking on THIS LINK.