The new playscape at the Lakeway Activity Center, 105 Cross Creek, is the only finished project from the city's 2024 parks bond. It opened in September 2025. It has natural play elements for different ages, new landscaping, and picnic areas, and it was designed as an all-inclusive playground for kids of different ages and abilities. When voters approved the bond, the council had ranked it fourth of five.
The gap between that ranking and the order the city is actually building in explains most of what Lakeway's parks will look like through 2027. It also explains why the pool comes so late.
The Ranking Voters Saw in 2024
Before the May 2024 election, the council listed its priorities in this order: Butler Park, the Swim Center, City Park, the Activity Center, and the tennis courts, according to the Statesman's Lake Travis View. Parks and Recreation Director Andra Bennett had said Lakeway had not made major park improvements in 22 years. Here is how that list compares with where each project stands in October 2026. The budgets are from a July 2025 city staff report.
| Project | 2024 council rank | Bond budget estimate | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler Rough Hollow Park | 1 | $2,100,483.84 | Under construction, opening expected summer 2027 |
| Lakeway Swim Center Park | 2 | $6,020,532 | Looking for an engineering firm; RFQ possible by early 2027 |
| Lakeway City Park | 3 | $10,649,452.80 | In design until January 2027; construction bid planned for fall 2027 |
| Lakeway Activity Center | 4 | $508,771.20 | Done since September 2025 |
| Live Oak Tennis Courts | 5 | $2,720,639.04 | No date set |
The five budgets add up to $21,999,878.88. The top of the list is moving. The second-ranked project has slipped to fourth in line.
The Quick Win Went First
Lakeway explained the Activity Center decision publicly. City staff told council in July 2025 that the project was moved up because it was cheap and would give residents an "immediate win" after they approved the bond, Community Impact reported. At about $509,000, it was the smallest item in the package by a wide margin.
The same presentation called Live Oak Tennis Courts the council's lowest-priority project. It will wait until other projects are underway or finished. The 2024 plan for that site replaces the existing courts, adds a new court and more parking, and builds a plaza with shaded picnic tables and a restroom. In the city's December 2025 timeline, its completion date is listed as "TBD."
Butler Rough Hollow Park Is the One Moving Dirt
The top-ranked project is the only one under construction. Butler Rough Hollow Park is a new 9.5-acre park in the Rough Hollow neighborhood, behind Rough Hollow Elementary. The city broke ground on July 6, 2026. As of July 2026, the planned features were:
- A hillside amphitheater with limestone-block seating and a concrete stage
- A mountain-bike course and a ninja course
- A bank-shot play court and a multisports field
- A shaded playground with roller slides, swings, and multilevel play
- A pavilion, restrooms, picnic tables, and benches
Two numbers have changed along the way. The opening date has moved: the city's December 2025 timeline said spring 2027, and the groundbreaking coverage said summer 2027. The estimated project cost rose from the $2.10 million bond budget to $2.6 million in July 2026 reporting, and the sources don't explain why. On Sept. 21, the City Council voted 7-0 to accept a $50,000 donation from RH Lakeway Development, LTD for the park's improvements, according to the city's Sept. 25 newsletter.
City Park's Calendar Moved Six Months
City Park, the waterfront park at 502 Hurst Creek Road, is the largest item in the bond. Its schedule has slipped the most. In November 2025, the city expected to bid the construction by March 2027. The October 2, 2026 update says design firm Dunaway and the city plan to finish design by January 2027, with the construction bid now set for fall 2027. The city's December 2025 timeline showed City Park finished in early 2028. That date was set before the bid moved, and no newer completion date has been published.
The current concept includes a full vehicle loop, a looped pedestrian trail, a skate park and pump track, new pickleball courts, and lake overlooks. The sand volleyball court and the dog park will be relocated, and the new dog park will have separate areas for large and small dogs. The earlier concept plan adds more detail: a two-way vehicle loop shown at 1.25 miles, a half-mile boardwalk, a kayak launch and drop-off, a beach walking trail, a renovated all-abilities playground, a beginner bike skills course, resurfaced and wider trails, a picnic pavilion, and a new restroom. The city's September 2026 newsletter asked for public input specifically on the skate park and bike skills designs.
Two questions City Park regulars will have are still open in the published material. No source reviewed says whether the park, its boat ramp, or the current dog park will close during construction. The plan shows the dog park being moved but does not clearly say where it goes within the park.
Why the Swim Center Is Waiting
The Swim Center has its money set aside, more than $6 million. What it doesn't have yet is a designer. Bennett said in October 2026 that the city is looking for a "unique engineering firm" for the swim facility and that a request for qualifications could go out by early 2027. In the same update she said, "We're trying to get these [projects] cranked out as fast as we can, and I say that with a caveat of making sure that we're doing quality parks and park projects in the process." The city had already said in December 2025 that City Park design would start before the Swim Center.
The amenity list from the 2024 campaign is still a concept. It included a lazy river, an eight-lane lap pool, a splash pad, leisure pool upgrades, a multipurpose sports field off Trophy Drive, and interior building improvements. That plan also called for closing the current skate park, basketball courts, and volleyball courts at the Swim Center site to make room. A skate park and relocated sand volleyball now appear in the City Park concept. A final Swim Center design, once an engineering firm is hired, will show how the two sites end up dividing those uses.
This Fall Runs on the Parks You Already Have
Butler won't open until summer 2027, City Park is still in design, and the Swim Center is waiting on its engineers. That means the city's fall and holiday calendar happens at facilities that look the way they did before the bond. The Swim Center and the Activity Center both host events this season:
- Floating Pumpkin Pool Patch, Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 a.m., at the Lakeway Swim Center.
- The Witches Ride, Saturday, Oct. 17. The parade starts at 6 p.m. at Live Oak Golf Course and ends at Lakeway City Hall, with a carnival there afterward, according to the city's Oct. 2 newsletter. An earlier city email listed a different start time and location, so go by the newsletter.
- "Nosferatu" with the Lake Travis Chamber Orchestra, Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Lakeway Activity Center, a short walk from the new playscape.
- Lakeway ArtWALK, Nov. 6 to 8.
- Lights On!, Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 9 p.m., in the Lakeway City Hall parking lot, with the Trail of Lights lighting and holiday activities.
The next dated milestone in the bond is the end of City Park's design phase in January 2027. The Swim Center RFQ could follow early that year. The city posts project updates on its 2024 Parks Bond page.
When a park three blocks away is about to spend two years under construction, it affects the timing of a sale, a renovation, or a family move. If you're planning one of those near City Park, the Swim Center, or Rough Hollow, Roxanne Escobedo can help you line your timeline up against the city's, in English or Spanish. Schedule a confidential consultation.
