Wife of late Horseshoe Bay developer offers parkland to city
HORSESHOE BAY — Gordon Wayne Hurd had already left an indelible mark upon the community as one of its co-founders and developers, but on Nov. 29 his widow announced she is adding to that legacy with a donation of 50 acres for city parkland.
Eileen Hurd offered the City Council a stretch of property that officials hope to turn into a trail system.
"I think everyone knows how careful a planner (Wayne Hurd) was," said Hurd friend and Horseshoe Bay Corp. President Sam Tarbet. "He and Eileen talked about this need for additional parkland."
The acreage Eileen Hurd wants to donate is on the west side of the city off Thanksgiving Mountain Road. It is adjacent to property owned by the Horseshoe Bay Property Owners Association and Horseshoe Bay Resort, Mayor Bob Lambert said.
Gordon Wayne Hurd died Sept. 26. He and his cousin Norman Hurd are considered the visionaries who transformed the 2,400-acre "Coke" Ranch in the late 1960s and early 1970s into Horseshoe Bay. The development started as a golfing and lake resort and the city incorporated in 2005.
The city wants to use the Hurd acreage and other land donations to build a system of trails, Lambert said.
"This would be a multi-year process (to develop trails and picnic areas)," Lambert said. "The possibilities are incredible."
Building a trail system with a picnic area and restrooms could cost up to $600,000, according to an estimate from the Lower Colorado River Authority, Lambert said.
"The LCRA identified a lot of grant opportunities," the mayor added, including a $200,000 grant through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The city can apply in a few months, he added.
"(The trail system) is a concept that needs to be developed," Lambert said. "It’s a fabulous piece of property."
In a related move, Scott & White Healthcare of Temple announced during a groundbreaking Nov. 16 that a $183 million medical complex on Texas 71 west of U.S. 281 would be called the Wayne & Eileen Hurd Regional Medical Center-Scott & White.