Fort Worth approves spending $1.6 million on expansion of future Rock Creek Ranch Park
The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to further expand the future Rock Creek Ranch Park at its Oct. 15 meeting.
The city will spend roughly $1.6 million to purchase 58.865 acres of open space in Southwest Fort Worth. Roughly 40 of those acres will go to expand Rock Creek Ranch Park, according to city documents.
The land for the future park sits just southeast of Benbrook Lake.
The city will use money from the 2022 bond program to pay for the expansion.
This is the second time the city has expanded Rock Creek Ranch Park. Fort Worth initially paid $6.75 million in 2021 to purchase the initial 275 acres, before paying $3 million in June 2022 to purchase an additional 22 acres belonging to estate of John Lewis Merrill, a rancher and former head of TCU’s ranch management program.
This latest expansion puts the future park at roughly 355 acres, which is just under half the size of Gateway Park in East Fort Worth.
Fort Worth has put a premium on preserving the city’s natural beauty as rapid growth has led to 50 acres of natural land being lost to development every week, according to city statistics.
The mission of the city’s open space program is to conserve natural areas that provide environmental benefit, recreational opportunities, and enhance Fort Worth’s quality of life.
Mayor Mattie Parker also launched an initiative in October 2023 with the goal of preserving 10,000 acres for open space in the next five years.
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