Santa Fe Park Development on the Horizon

By Nathan Carlson

SAN ANGELO, TX — Many residents believe that San Angelo needs a jump start to attract traffic to the city limits. It’s bad enough that the Concho Valley is wedged evenly between I-20 and I-10, almost designed to be avoided altogether. The perfect remedy for any city to rebound is to clean and renew public spaces. Santa Fe Park is prime for a landscape renovation with beautiful greenery that hugs the Concho River. Only the test of time stands in the way, but anything is possible with the right support.

The foundation of San Angelo saw the expansion of the city to the Concho River. In 1913, however, C. A. Broome made a revolutionary effort to push the city’s beauty, by acquiring the city the western riverbend property deals behind closed doors. The only stipulation being, that the land is “to be kept, preserved and used by (the) City of San Angelo for all future times as public parks, playgrounds and places of recreation”, as stated in a city document. For over a century, San Angelo has kept that promise … mostly.

While the Santa Fe golf course claims over a century-long residency, the owner of the property’s golf course, Chris Gebauer, would like to see it better funded and maintained. He said he has long been frustrated with the lack of city attention. “I had documentation showing that (park) funding has been the same since 2008,” Gebauer said. With low city funding, Gebauer lifts most of the weight to keep Santa Fe Golf playable. “I literally have enough budget from the city to keep color on the greens. Everything else comes out of my pocket, paying my employees, and I own and maintain my equipment.” While motivation may be at an all-time low, Gebauer wouldn’t be anywhere else. He was eager to cite his passion as his reason to stay. “I've approached the city with it because I love what I do. I love this golf course, and I'll be honest, I'm probably the only one who really cares about it.”

City Council in May approved a resolution endorsing private fundraising efforts for a proposed public art project within Santa Fe Park titled the Concho River Legacy Trail.

The plan includes commissioning a series of bronze sculptures — proposed to be approximately 110% life-size — that will depict the region’s frontier history along the Concho River parks.

In a 6-1 vote, council members also authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposals to re-envision landscaping around the river and park areas, incorporating the sculpture installations into a unified design. The proposal received full backing from the Public Art Commission on April 30.

Longtime Parks and Recreation Director Carl White looks to bring the park project from a mere City Hall agenda topic to a reality you can walk through. In an article published almost a decade ago, Carl White’s dream was outlined. “I like to think of our Santa Fe Park as San Angelo’s 'Central Park.' Although only a tenth of the size, there is much about it that can serve us well as our keystone park. ... I often like to dream, what could the park be now that it isn’t today? How can it better serve our community for health, activity, tourism, a sense of place and being?"

Eight years later, White's feelings about the park haven't changed.

“I mean, the river is the lifeblood of our community. Residential area on a couple sides, is right next to the International Waterlily Collection. It's right next to downtown and a fabulous potential asset,” White said.

While it’s common for taxpayers to feel concerned for high construction spending, White promises a project much lighter. “I envision more like a community park, but I'm not talking about stuff where you have an amphitheater with big lights and you host lots of events and activities. I'm picturing something more tranquil,” ensures White.

The sculpture project will be "probably the largest Texas has ever seen of its kind," White said. "A narrative that starts along the river and goes into Santa Fe Park, telling the story of why we're here, how we got here, how it all developed over the last 200 years, how long we've been here. So it's not just San Angelo history, it's the history of the area.”

White also revealed that Native American history will be woven into the project as well. He named the group Art In Uncommon Places as the designated artist for the development. Known for their River Corridor and Red Arroyo projects, Art In Uncommon Places looks to start their biggest continuous piece on the biggest stage in San Angelo. “Tim Newton, who's an art collector, is well known throughout the nation, particularly in the realistic kind of southwestern art, landscape, and sculptures. He's moved to San Angelo, and he's gotten involved with this project. He's kind of like the lead on this project. So the resolution that was adopted allows that group to go out and fundraise for this project and work towards installing it.”

White understands the complexity of such an assignment, and explains how the puzzle pieces fall. “With such a big project, going on park property, how do we incorporate that into the landscape right now? Because you can't just sit it there. It's not going to look good, it's not going to fit. You have to consider lots of different elements.”

The history of golf has a century-long story, and White agrees that it should forevermore be a part of Santa Fe Park in a possible abbreviated way. “You can't keep the same golf course and have people out there throwing frisbees at the same time. There has been talk about doing something like on the north side, where you have like, a six-hole par-three or something like that. Then up there maybe you could add lights because the residential areas down here, and you could have some abbreviated golf activities. So that's a possibility. It's been talked about.”

White said that the city will be soliciting forms through the Request for Proposals and Quotes process to work with the public's input. Shovels hitting the ground looks to be months away. White recommends that the public should voice interest to their City Council. While funding is mostly private, public attention and approval could be what Santa Fe Park needs. White said it best eight years ago calling the people of San Angelo to the front lines of the dream. “We have had this wonderful park for more than 100 years and haven’t yet let it fully meet its potential. Collectively, we can.”