Bedford approves design contract to add tennis and pickleball courts at Generations Park

The council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to execute a professional-services contract with Lowe's Design for the design of four tennis courts and four-to-six pickleball courts at Generations Park (the Mesquite Lot area). Parks staff said the larger project is funded partly by a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) grant ($750,000 state / $750,000 city match originally) but that design-phase services are not eligible for reimbursement under the grant, requiring the city to fund design from bond interest earnings.

Parks Director Mark Law said staff expects construction costs likely to exceed the original grant-supported budget and estimated total court construction could be north of $1.6M to $2M; design services under the contract would not exceed $222,000. Law said the city expects to use Phase Next bond interest earnings (currently about $835,000) for the design and potential additional construction needs. The design firm will produce civil, structural, electrical and landscape documents and preliminary opinions of probable cost, assist in bidding, and support construction services.

Council discussed operational flexibility—several councilors asked whether tennis courts could be subdivided into multiple pickleball courts; staff said that courts can be configured to accommodate multiple pickleball courts per tennis court but that conversion involves compromises. Council approved the contract and asked staff to keep the project on schedule and within agreed funding constraints.

The motion to approve passed unanimously. Staff said a design timeline of about six months followed by bidding and a six-to-eight-month construction window is anticipated if funding is lined up.