Early Town Center Project

Boardwalk Update 1/17/25

City of Early crews are cutting dirt out from under the boardwalk to ensure water depth at the edge of the boardwalk will be maintained. Our crews are also installing rip rap along the water's edge to help control erosion. The contractor has completed drilling and pouring all 222 piers that will support the walkway of the boardwalk. The next major steps will include installing the “I” beams on top of the piers and completing the retaining walls around the front edge of the boardwalk.

MLF Fish Feeder Donations (10/28/24)

Fisheries Biologist Steven Bardin with Texas Pro Lake Management and Major League Fishing Co-Founder Gary Klein Pro Angler presented two American Feeder H 125 Fish and Game Feeders as donations. These contributions, provided through Minn Kota Habitat Restoration projects with support from MossBack Fish Habitat and American Feeders, aim to enhance local fish populations and support sustainable fishing practices in the community.

Read more about it at https://earlytx.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=204

New Boardwalk Business Announced (10/11/24)

We are thrilled to announce that WHW Ventures LLC, a collaboration of dedicated local partners, is bringing an exciting new venture to the Early Town Center boardwalk! What began as a shared vision is now transforming into a vibrant reality, and we can't wait to unveil it to the community!

Stay tuned for updates as we progress with the boardwalk's construction. For more information about this exciting project or to get involved, please don't hesitate to reach out to WHW Ventures LLC at whwventures@gmail.com.

Water IQ Pulsar installation (5/14/24)

A Water IQ Pulsar was installed this morning at the Early Town Center Community Lake by Fisheries Biologist Steven Bardin with Texas Pro Lake Management. This device is an ultrasonic algae control system that creates a vibration causing algae cells to sink below the surface where they can't engage in photosynthesis and die. Some of this algae can be harmful during the summertime if people come in direct contact with it or pets that drink the contaminated water. This Water IQ Pulsar will help eliminate this algae and keep our Community Lake safe for everyone to use.

Second HAAP Grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife (10/11/23)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries Division has awarded the City of Early a second HAAP grant to build kayak launches in the Early Town Center Lake and the Pecan Bayou. HAAP stands for Habitat and Angler Access Program. Projects funded by this grant are intended allow better access to fishing, as well as improve habitats for fish living in these areas. The first HAAP grant award we received was used for fish habitats and docks on the Town Center Lake. These grants have allowed the city to make great improvements to the Town Center that will bring lasting joy for years to come!

See the official Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries Division press release here.

YMCA Announcement (06/13/23)

During the City Council meeting Tony Aaron, City Administrator, introduced the plan to assess the need and interest in building a YMCA in Early's new Town Center. The YMCA Needs Assessment survey will help the city determine what features would be best suited to both Early and Brown County as a whole. Everyone in Early and the surrounding county are encouraged to submit their responses. The City of Early looks forward to fulfilling the needs of the community in such a fun way! Click here to take the YMCA Needs Assessment. For more information about the YMCA project click here.

TMCN Program to Construct Sun Dial (04/14/23)

Early High School and the City of Early have partnered for many years to bring several features around town to the City through the TMCN Leadership Program. This year, the program is working to construct a sun dial with "Stonehenge" style aesthetics. The pillars that mark the hours will graduate from 6ft at the 6am pillar up to 12 feet at 12 noon and back down to 6ft at 6pm. The gnomon that will cast the shadow to mark the hour will stand at an impressive 24 feet high and will be very recognizable. To hear more about the project, you can watch the full video by clicking here.

Current Progress of the Early Town Center Lake (01/05/23)

Progress is made on the Town Center Lake every day with crews currently dredging and digging out the pond to a depth of 16 feet. Multiple excavators can be found around the area hauling dirt from the lake and placing it on the East side of the property where it waits to be used to build up other areas of the Town Center. So far, the dirt from the lake has been used to build up the pad for the batting cages. The lake still has around 6 feet in depth to be dug out before the crews begin to shape the pond. Once the water body is shaped, Texas Parks and Wildlife will begin building the shorelines and fish habitats around the pond before they stock it with bass, sunfish, and trout in the winter. Below are a few images of the progress so far.

Outdoor Classroom Constructed (12/16/22)

One vision for the Town Center Park was always to have an outdoor classroom that will serve many people of varying uses. The main use of this classroom is to provide students with a place to come and learn about local wildlife, plant life and our own ecosystem. The outdoor classroom is constructed to look like the outline of the old Early School building that is no longer in use but serves as a historical marker for Early citizens and alumni. This outdoor classroom will be a great place for people to picnic, hangout, have an acoustic music set or even host a wedding. Still to come for the classroom is lighting, benches and a lighted walking trail that leads to the classroom.

This project was funded in-part by the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Council Members and MDD Board Tours Town Center (11/17/22)

The Early City Council and Municipal Development District Board Members had a chance to take a tour of the current state of the Town Center in order to formulate a better idea of what to expect in the coming years. It's always fun to hear about the Town Center but when you can go out and visualize it in person, it puts everything into perspective. Our Council Members and MDD Board have both been a huge part in the plans for the Town Center, so taking frequent visits to understand better what is being done, is very helpful and very important in order to ensure that the right decisions for our citizens are being made.

Lake Reconstruction Bid Awarded to Mobley Construction LLC (08/15/22)

On July 17, 2022, the City of Early solicited for bids on the construction of the Town Center Lake. Five bids came in with the highest being $1.8 million and the lowest being $384 thousand. On August 15, after having reviewed these bids in private with other administrative employees, City Administrator Tony Aaron made a suggestion to the City Council to award the bid to Mobley Construction LLC in the amount of $396,363. Mobley Construction is expected to begin construction by the beginning of October and be completed by the end of March. Once Mobley Construction is done with their portion of the work, the City along with Texas Parks and Wildlife will begin working on shoreline stabilization, habitat construction and erosion control. Then the piers will be constructed, the lake will be filled and the fish will be added. The lake is expected to be opened to the public in August of 2023.

High Resolution Renderings of the Boardwalk Released (06-23-22)

Schwarz-Hanson Architects created renderings of what our vision is for the boardwalk. As you can see in the photos, the boardwalk is designed to be a social area that welcomes many people to come and spend time outdoors shopping, eating, sight-seeing or just hanging out. There will be lights strung across the boardwalk to allow for soft lighting in the evenings. There are fire pits in specific areas for colder evenings and areas of the boardwalk that jut out which could act as a stage area for a performance. We anticipate the boardwalk to be a highly popular space that people from near and far will enjoy. Shaping of the pond continues as of June 23rd and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023. The boardwalk is currently in the engineering phase.

LCRA Awards $50,000 Grant (06-06-22)

The City of Early will be able to construct a trail with educational signs and an outdoor classroom thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $54,000 in matching contributions, will construct a trailhead with lighting, a walkway, educational signage and an outdoor classroom in the new Early Town Center Park and Pond recreation area.

Read full story here

Plan for Batting Cages Discussed at Council Meeting (04-12-22)

The batting cages are a component of the Town Center Park that was very well received by the public and had the majority of votes when we had residents vote on several different amenity options. On April 12, the City Council met at city Hall and on the agenda was the discussion of the batting cages. The batting cages will contain 5 stalls and will be coin-operated and lit for use after dark. Currently, the design of the sub-base (soil under the batting cages) is in engineering and once that is completed, we will go out for bids on the construction of the batting cages and construction can be expected to begin by the end of the summer in 2022. Below are some drawings of what the batting cages will look like with an additional example photo.

Commercial Master Plan is Accepted by City Council (10-26-21)

On October 26, 2021, the Early City Council met at City Hall to listen to a presentation given by Tod Hanson of Schwartz and Hanson regarding the design of the master plan that had been in production for a few weeks. Months prior, the Council voted to hire Schwartz and Hanson out of Fort Worth to design a concept for our Town Center's Commercial side. Below you can watch Mr. Hanson's presentation as he shares the Masterplan's ideas for streets with roundabouts, parking situations, a boardwalk, several business, green spaces and more.

Town Center Pond Fish Relocation (10-13-21)

On October 13th, 2021, Clearwater Consulting put a boat on the pond that was used for the relocation of fish within the pond. Once the Early MDD purchased the land that was to become the Early Town Center, the pond then became public waters which meant that the fish within the pond also became public waters. So in order to remain within compliance of the Texas Parks and Wildlife's stipulations for their grant, the fish were relocated via a boat with electric probes. The probes would shock the water which temporarily stunned the fish (2-3 seconds). The fish were then scooped up, put into a live well and then transferred to the Pecan Bayou. Below is a video of the process.

Public Hearing (5-27-2021)

A public hearing was held in May to give citizens the opportunity to learn more in depth about the recreational side of the development. Citizens were also given the opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns or just give general input. In addition, there were 18 boards with an amenity on each board and a description of that amenity. Citizens were then given 18 stars to act as "votes." Citizens were allowed to place how ever many stars they wished on those boards.

The event was a success and the City of Early learned a lot about the desires of the public. A link to the survey was posted on this website and on Facebook for a few weeks following the meeting to ensure that many others could vote on their favorite amenities for the park. This public hearing opened up much discussion with the public and answered several concerns, you can see and hear all of that by watching the video below!

Three Recreational Concepts (5-20-21)

On May 20, 2021, the City of Early released three renderings of potential use for the future recreational side of the property. The public had tons of input and discussion pertaining to these renderings. Below are the three initial plans which were later altered to fit the people's input. The Early MDD hired Brian Ross with Ross Golf Design to study and develop several recreational concepts for the project and here is what he created:

The Trip for Inspiration (4-20-21)

On April 20, 2021, the Early Municipal Development District board and city staff took a day trip to several towns around the Fort Worth area. These towns included, Granbury, Benbrook, Grapevine, Southlake, Fort Worth and Roanoke. The board traveled to these towns to see examples of some of the elements that could become a part of this development. A report of this research trip was shared with the Early City Council and will be made part of public hearings in the near future.

Below are photographs from this trip that show a few of those elements and some of the inspiration for the project:

Steps to making the Town Center Vision a reality

"Kelcy Way" design and Construction

Access to the property and future Town Center will exist in the near future. The City of Early has employed Volkert Engineering to design a street being called "Kelcy Way" Named after a family of long term residence to the City of Early and long term owners of the property, Kelcy Way will begin off of the Old May road behind the Cefco gas station. It will continue along the back of several business on Early Blvd. and provide those businesses with another route for the customers to access them. The road will end behind Humphry Pete's with a large public 100+ parking lot. The lot will provide overflow parking for area businesses and will also be the parking of the recreational area of the property. Additionally, another new road will be built between O Riley's and La Botana that will connect Early Blvd. and the newly constructed Kelcy Way. Construction plans are expected to be completed this summer with construction of the roads to begin as soon as late summer or early fall. The estimated cost of construction is yet to be determined, but It should be noted that it will be paid for with sales tax generated from the growing and outstanding local economy of Early, Texas.

Below is an early rendering of what these roads and parking lots could look like.

Timeline for the Project

As you can imagine, putting a timeline in place for a project of this magnitude and diversity is no easy task. While there are many things happening all at the same time we are setting our goal of completion by individual projects within the overall vision. The completion of Kelcy Way is necessary to access the recreational areas, and to provide access and utilities up to the mixed-use development area. By the time that the construction component of that project kicks off, we can begin to think about the next phase of road and utility design. At this time, we will also be working on selling the property to commercial developers for them to begin their planning. Overall we anticipate Kelcy Way to be completed in the first part of 2022; The recreational components to begin construction in 2022; and By the beginning of 2023 you should see the construction of some of the first commercial and multi-family projects.

With a project of this size 5 to 10 years is not a long time for it to take to build it out. However, if the right development company identifies and sees the value of our project this timeline could be greatly accelerated. We strongly believe that public private partnerships is the key to having a successful project and completing it at the lowest possible cost to the citizens of Early, Texas

Early Town Center Project

Town Center News

Below is the latest information pertaining to the Town Center Project from most recent to the oldest.

Additional Sidewalks (1/12/26)

A brand-new Sail Shade has been installed at the Early Town Center boardwalk.(12/31/25)

Our crews have been hard at work on the butterfly garden at Early Town Center Park. (12/17/26)

The wait is finally over, the boardwalk at the Early Town Center is officially OPEN! (12/7/25)

Our parks crews have been busy preparing the butterfly garden. (11/7/25)

The City of Early is pleased to announce that public restrooms at the Early Town Center Park are open! (10/21/26)

Work has continued on Mangrum Street. (10/17/25)

Work is officially underway on the newest addition to the Early Town Center Park, a Butterfly Garden! (9/29/26)

The additional parking lot at the Early Town Center is making great progress! (9/28/25)

Our Parks and Recreation team recently added 32 new trees to the Boardwalk (9/8/25).

Brownwood News Story about the Boardwalk Sign at the Town Center (8/28/25)

KTXS News Story about the Boardwalk Sign at the Town Center (8/22/25)

Boardwalk Update 6/26/25

State of the City (4/11/25)

KTXS News Story about Town Center (3/25/25)

Boardwalk Update 3/20/25

Boardwalk Update 2/20/25

Boardwalk Update 1/17/25

Second Winter Trout Stocking (1/14/25)

Boardwalk Piers (12/30/24)

Boardwalk Update (12/16/24)

Holly Jolly Tree Trail (12/4/24)

Trout Stocking (12/2/24)

MLF Fish Feeder Donations (10/28/24)

Fishing with the Pros Event (10/26/24)

New Boardwalk Business Announced (10/11/24)

Boardwalk Progression (10/4/24)

KTXS News Story about Town Center (9/24/24)

Boardwalk Construction Kicks Off (9/11/24)

Kid's Fishing Event (6/8/24)

Trees Planted (6/6/24-6/7/24)

Channel Catfish Stocked (5/30/24)

Water IQ Pulsar installation (5/14/24)

Hosted First Community Event (4/27/24)

State of the City (4/12/24)

Bass Stock (4/10/24)

First Wedding Hosted at the Outdoor Classroom (3/23/24)

Batting Cages Officially Open (3/18/24)

EZ Dock Kayak Launch Installed (3/5/24)

Rainbow Trout Stock (2/29/24)

Walking Trails Open to the Public (1/24/24)

TMCN Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon (10/27/23)

Second HAAP Grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife (10/11/23)

Fishing Dock (08/09/23)

Walking Bridge (07/31/23)

Lake Update (07/19/23)

Memorial Benches on the Town Center Walking Trail (07/05/23)

YMCA Announcement (06/13/23)

Current Progress of the Early Town Center Lake (06/08/23)

City Administrator Gives Update on Current Progress (04/14/23)

TMCN Program to Construct Sun Dial (04/14/23)

Current Progress of the Early Town Center Lake (01/05/23)

Outdoor Classroom Constructed (12/16/22)

Council Members and MDD Board Tours Town Center (11/17/22)

Kelcy Way and Buena Vista 95% Complete (11/15/22)

Updated Photos of Kelcy Way & Buena Vista (10/06/22)