A current view of the Holly Project site on city parkland where the Trail Conservancy plans to build a fishing pier, among other modest but pleasant improvements. Image: The Trail Conservancy
Let’s face it, we are downright obnoxious pushers for the Trail Conservancy’s efforts to build a fishing pier as part of park improvements planned for Holly Shores along the Hike-and-Bike Trail in East Austin. It’s a great reminder that these downtown-adjacent waterways are angler-friendly, but there’s also something very charming about the project’s modest scope and scale compared with some of the area’s more ambitious (and expensive) park plans — this is a pier that makes it easier to fish on the lake. Although it’s a modern, well-lit, and ADA-accessible design, it’s not trying to reinvent the outdoor experience, and it’s not going to cost hundreds of millions.
Yes…ha ha ha…yes! Image: The Trail Conservancy
In fact, city filings and a construction and maintenance funding agreement recommended to City Council by the city’s Parks Board earlier this week indicate that the construction of the plan, known as the Holly Project, could cost the city less than $1 million, with additional funds provided by the Trail Conservancy’s donors.
Image: The Trail Conservancy / Ten Eyck Landscape Architects
You’ve gotta admit that price tag sounds downright reasonable, and assuming Council approves the funding agreement, current city filings indicate construction at the project site in Holly Shores could kick off as soon as April this year. Along with the signature pier, the Holly Project includes seating, new lakefront trails, and native plantings to protect the ecology of the shoreline in this area.
Holly Project is located just west of the decommissioned Holly Power Plant at Festival Beach, adjacent to the lagoon and the baseball fields. The area is located in the East Cesar Chavez and Holly Neighborhoods, home to generations of Hispanic residents who have worked to preserve its character and culturally historic sites. A significant achievement for the community has been the recognition by the U.S. Department of the Interior to designate the Tejano Music Legends Trail as a National Recreation Trail. The Trail showcases many historical and cultural sites that honor Austin’s Latino musical legends from the 1940s and 50s. Part of the 5.6-mile pathway runs along the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, connecting the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Arts Center (ESB-MACC) and Holly Project. Neighborhood leaders are currently working with partners and area schools to improve the promotion of the trails for fitness, health, historic preservation, and cultural awareness.
It’s just one small piece of the larger vision plan formed for the city parkland on the waterfront in this area back in 2015, but the recent focus on more modest and attainable improvements like better trail connections around the former Holly Power Plant site are a good start — and projects like Holly’s fishing pier are preferred over flashier upgrades by neighborhood residents, who would like to keep at least a few pockets of tranquility as the region develops. You wanna talk tranquility? Just smash play on this video of legendary angler Clark Wendlandt fishing Lady Bird Lake if you’d like to see what’s in store for you and the rest of Austin at Holly Shores:
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