Story, photos by Steve Nash / Special Contributor to BrownwoodNews.com

Speaking at the Thursday, Feb. 5 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Brownwood, Early City Administrator Tony Aaron and Visit Early Tourism Director Denise Hudson-Brian brought different topics.

But both offered a common theme: there is plenty happening in the Early-Brownwood area, which is becoming a destination draw for visitors.

Hudson-Brian highlighted the return of Major League Fishing in 2026. The Pro Bass Tour’s schedule places the event on O.H. Ivie Lake and Lake Brownwood March 26-29.

The grand opening of the boardwalk at the Early Town Center Park will be March 27, and festivities that include live music, food trucks and a mechanical bull, will begin on March 28, Hudson-Brian said. People will also be able to watch the Major League Fishing on O.H. Ivie Lake and Lake Brownwood on a large outdoor screen.

“Contractors, travel associations, different people will be invited to come and dedicate the boardwalk, do the chamber ribbon cutting and showcase the boardwalk and the park,” Hudson-Brian said.

About 30 events including outdoor weddings and trout stockings have taken place at the town center park.

“We just finished the Holly Jolly Tree Trail,” Hudson-Brian said. “A lot of people said they felt like they’d stepped into a Hallmark movie.

“This year we will have 15 events that we know of right now. Those events were put on by community members. We are looking for those community partners who want us to market it, help get it out there, and it be your event and you be a part of the town center and that story that is going on.”

Hudson-Brian concluded by saying, “Early-Brownwood — we’re central. I do think we are becoming a destination that people want to come to.”

Aaron addressed most of his comments on the topics of the own center, beginning with the history of the park.

“2019, we started thinking about buying land out there just north of Early Boulevard,” Aaron said. “The challenges we were having was, we didn’t have much depth to our commercial corridor. And our corridor just keeps getting spread out. Everybody wants to be on the road. So we bought that land. At the time we bought that land we bought that land we bought 64 acres for $600,000 and people thought we had lost our mind. We now have contracts on that land for $600,000 for one acre.

“We had no idea exactly what that park was going to turn into. We needed additional land and we knew there was an opportunity to build a really nice park there. Right now we have a beautiful park with a wonderful walkway along the Pecan Bayou. We have a beautiful lake that we built and we’re wrapping up the boardwalk. We have the batting cages and we have built two streets. All of that was to preface what yet is to come.”

Aaron spoke about ongoing projects at the town center including:

• The 75-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott is under contract and will be built at the north end of the project. “That project’s going to be somewhere around a $10 million project,” Aaron said. They’re doing their Geotech studies, they’re finalizing their site plan, they’re waiting for their final review from Mariott and we hope to get that building started within the next couple of months,” Aaron said.

• Just south of the Marriott will be another venue event area. “I don’t know if anyone has been to an outdoor container park-type dining situation,” Aaron said. “It is that. Privately funded, that project is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of half a million to $750,000. “

• Aaron next referred to a 7,000-square-foot building that will be constructed. “They’re talking to some other people about leasing space in there,” Aaron said. “We’re talking in the neighborhood of a million dollar project. “

• Hutchins Custom Homes will build a 14,000-square-foot building that will include a restaurant called the Twisted Oak Bar and Grill. The restaurant will include rooftop dining, accessible by elevator.

“Currently the City of Early has spent just south of $5.5 million to get us to where we are right now,” Aaron said. “That includes buying the land. All of that has been paid for with sales tax dollars.

“We’ve looked at over the whole 25 acres we will be building out, and it may happen in my career, it may happen in my lifetime but it’s going to happen, and it’s going to be driven by the market. When that happens, in today’s dollars we’re looking at about $100 million investment in private dollars coming into our community over that time period.”

Referring to businesses that will be housed in the town center, Aaron continued, “the other thing that’s beneficial to a lot of these businesses is that these are curbed in sites. What that means is when somebody builds this restaurant, that’s all they’re building is their restaurant. They’re not having to provide a parking lot. They’re not having to provide street lights. They’ re not having to provide the entertainment that draws people to this location. It’s there. The boardwalk’s there.

“When we first started talking about it six, seven years ago, I think there were a lot of starry eyed looks, like ‘ this is very ambitious.’ We feel like we’re delivering and we feel like the next step to come is going to be the return on investments.”

Aaron noted the City of Brownwood’s accomplishments including the opening of the Event Center and downtown development.

“We feel like we have stepped up Early’s game to try to bring the same quality of investment in our community,” Aaron said. “We as the smaller city don’t want to be the city that’s sitting back on its heels and let Brownwood do all of the heavy lifting. We want to be involved in that as well.

“That’s what makes our community better. I think the overall goal is to create an environment where people want to come here from out of town and spend their dollars.”

Aaron said the Early-Brownwood area is in a “sweet spot” as residents of the I-35 corridor and Abilene look for a rural lifestyle that offers urban amenities.

“For the first time in Early’s history we have three different residential developments that are going on,” Aaron said.

“In the last 18 months the city of Early has constructed or reconstructed five city streets, and four of those have been done with developer dollars. That’s a hint of what might be coming. There is a lot going on in the city of Early. We feel like it is a very symbiotic relationship with Brown County that we all do our part to grow positively.

Aaron concluded by commenting on the possibility of Pecan Bayou foot bridge that would connect the Early Town Center Park with Brownwood’s Riverside Park.

Aaron noted that Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes had referenced the topic in his State of the City address last month.

“I want you all to hear it from Early’s perspective,” Aaron said. “That is something we’re interested in doing.”

Aaron said he, Brownwood City Manager Marshal McIntosh, Early Mayor Bob Mangrum and Haynes have talked about a prospective bridge.

“We are looking at the path forward,” Aaron said. “We need to identify those costs. I think it’s feasible. We think it’s a great thing and to have those two wonderful amenities tied together. I think is something we need to try to make happen.”