Renovations at Noble E. Young Park in Tyler will include two walking trails, tearing down and redoing the pavilion and restroom facilities and adding exercise equipment.

The Tyler City Council on Wednesday entered into an agreement with Halff Associates to prepare design plans for Noble E. Young Park renovations.

“We’re really excited,” said Leanne Robinette, Tyler Parks and Recreation’s director. “The park is in desperate need of some upgrades.”

Updates to Noble E. Young were initially approved by the council in December. The design contract will cost $77,000.

In the 1990s, small features were added to the park, and a skate park opened there in 1998, Robinette said. No renovations have occurred there “in a really long time,” she added.

Noble E. Young Park will be receiving a new pavilion, restrooms, a walking trail, playground equipment and outdoor exercise equipment that includes some ADA-compliant pieces.

The neighborhood around Noble E. Young Park enjoys using it, Robinette said, and it is often rented out for functions such as birthday parties, family reunions and more.

When renovations are completed, “We think that it’ll bring great pride to the community, a place (residents) can go and feel safe and that they know we care enough to make these renovations and repairs,” Robinette said. “We hear them when they let us know that some things need to be changed.”

The city created and adopted a 20-year master plan for parks and open spaces in 2010, which was updated in 2019 for the next 10 years, Robinette said. The master plan includes a ranking of all 28 parks in Tyler and renovations needed.

When ranking the parks, things such as usage, age, features of the park, repairs needed and more are considered, Robinette said. Noble E. Young Park was ranked “pretty high” on the list, she added.

“For five years, the city has been working on the parks master plan,” Robinette said. The next six years of the master plan is laid out specifically for parks renovations, she added.

“By the end of that sixth year, our hope and our goal is to have touched every single park in some way,” Robinette said.

So far, renovations have been done to Emmett J. Scott Park, Woldert Park and Fun Forest Park and pool. Robinette said that over the past few years, a lot of progress has been made.

The renovations for Noble E. Young Park will be paid for by the Community Development Block Grant Program, which is a grant specifically for helping parks or locations in lower-income neighborhoods, Robinette said.

With the restrictions of the grant, renovations to the park have to be completed by August, Robinette said.

The city has started to request bids for the work, and the demolition process has begun. After the construction contract is signed, Halff Associates is ready to start with the park design, she said.