Residents Invited to Al Rollins Park Groundbreaking June 28, 2025
Published on June 12, 2025
The Arlington Parks and Recreation Department is proud to announce the groundbreaking ceremony for the future Al Rollins Park, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2025. The event will take place on-site at 3311 SW Green Oaks Blvd., adjacent to the Southwest Branch Library. Parking will be available in the library lot.
The ceremony will include remarks from City leadership, project consultants, and members of the Rollins family. Light refreshments will be served, and photo opportunities will follow the program. The community is invited to attend and celebrate this exciting addition to the Arlington park system.
The 2.4-acre Al Rollins Park will feature a variety of amenities designed to engage residents of all ages and support environmental education. 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 site 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,” said James Orloski, Director of Arlington Parks and Recreation. “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.”
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.