Northwest Austin Edition | January 2026

BY BEN THOMPSON

Parks bond breakdowns Austin’s parks bonds have traditionally funded open space acquisitions.

Going forward

The approach

City sta and a resident commission are still working to develop a nal list of funding priorities for a 2026 bond. However, Austin’s tight nances also led some ocials to recently question whether the time is right for the city to take on more debt, or if a comprehensive bond package should be delayed. For now, Grantham said he’d like to be optimistic about more support in the future. “We are still acquiring parkland, we are still building new parks, and we are still making connections. We are doing so with fewer tools, and we’re doing so with less funding,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we can get more tools and explore creative options and, let’s be honest, receive more funding.”

The parks department is using available dollars to build out Austin’s network of open spaces. Most recently, that included $45 million of the nearly $150 million 2018 parks bond. The commu- nity is now looking ahead to another bond, poten- tially for voter consideration this year, that could include a fresh round of green space funding. An initial $3.9 billion project list for a bond was released last year with $100 million for park acqui- sitions. On Jan. 21, a reduced proposal was released for a $700 million bond, with $40 million for acquisitions out of $140 million in total for parks. Approving more land acquisition dollars today is critical and cost-eective for growing Austin’s parkland, according to the parks department. It estimates $100 million of current investments would save $150 million over the coming decade due to property appreciation. That money can be stretched with dedication fees, Grantham said, but payments now come at lower levels.

Not land acquisition Share for land acquisition

$149M

Total bond amount

$104M

$84.7M

$77.7M

$75.9M

$64.2M

$72.1M

$41.1M

$20M

$45M

$34.9M

$20.5M

$20M

$5.6M

2012

2018

1992*

1998 2006

* 100% OF 1992 BOND WENT TO LAND ACQUISITION NOTE: 2026 BOND TO BE DETERMINED

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