City Breaks Ground on Al Rollins Park
Published on June 30, 2025
Joined by members of the Rollins family, the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department celebrated the start of construction on the future Al Rollins Park on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The 2.4-acre park next to the Southwest Branch Library honors Al Rollins, who served the City of Arlington in several key roles—including City Engineer, Director of Public Works, Director of Utilities, and City Manager—from 1956 to 1967. After leaving city service, he co-founded Schrickel, Rollins and Associates, a civil engineering and landscape architecture firm that has left a lasting mark on public spaces throughout Arlington and beyond. Rollins remained engaged with the firm, now Parkhill, as chairman emeritus until its 2018 merger.
“Naming this park in honor of Al Rollins is especially meaningful given his unique legacy in both public service and the private sector,” Parks Director James Orloski said. “He helped shape Arlington’s infrastructure as a city leader and continued to influence our community and beyond through decades of design and consulting work. It’s a fitting tribute that bridges his past impact and our future vision.”
Planned phase I features include:
- Playgrounds for ages 2–5 and 5–12
- Interactive pipe park sign
- 0.14-mile long, 8-foot-wide walking trail
- Dry creek with native plantings
- Pollinator and wildflower gardens
- Open green space for passive recreation
The park’s design reflects community input collected through stakeholder meetings, a fall 2022 public survey, and a collaborative project with second-grade students from AISD’s Wood Elementary.
"The park will include something for everyone—playgrounds for multiple age groups, pollinator and wildflower gardens, paved walking trail, and open green space for passive recreation," Orloski said. "Its location next to the Arlington Southwest Library Branch creates exciting opportunities for cross-departmental programming that blends recreation and education. Our vision for parks in Arlington continues to evolve—not just more green space, but spaces that are inclusive, sustainable, and designed for connection. Al Rollins Park will exemplify that vision."
The Arlington Parks and Recreation Board unanimously endorsed the park name in March 2016. City Council formally approved the naming on May 10, 2016. In 2023, Parkhill Smith & Cooper developed the park’s master plan pro bono. The firm was later contracted in June 2024 for civil and landscape design services.
The project arrives at a time of growth and recognition for Arlington’s parks system. As the city enters its second century of parks and recreation, Arlington has climbed from 74th to 46th in the national Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore® rankings over the past two years. With 71% of Arlington residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park—14% above the national urban average—the city now ranks 4th in Texas, behind only Plano, Dallas, and Frisco.
For more information about the groundbreaking or future park development, please contact the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department at parksdepartment@arlingtontx.gov.