Highland Village Locked In the Park Money. Now Watch Whether They Actually Build It.

If you've sat through a Highland Village council meeting in the last few years wondering when Pilot Knoll would stop being a slideshow and start being a construction site, here's your answer: the money is now officially locked in.

At its June 23 meeting, council received the Capital Improvement Program for FY 2026-27 and approved funding for several park projects. Pilot Knoll is in that group. That's the difference between "we'd like to" and a line item with a dollar sign in front of it.

The project has had a long road to get here. In 2021, Certificates of Obligation were issued for improvements to Pilot Knoll Park, which included campground and shelter improvements, replacement of the gatehouse, improvements to the boat ramps, and construction of 16 rental cabins to provide an ongoing revenue stream. Then the cabins ran into reality. In October 2025, council directed staff to remove the construction of the 16 rental cabins, as the cost projections did not deliver the additional revenue initially projected. The removal of the cabins is expected to drop the project's budget by up to $1.4 million — while the city's original budget planned for cabin construction at about $2.3 million, staff said the cabins might have cost upwards of $3 million today.

So the scope changed. The park itself stayed in.

The plans still include upgrades to the park's entryway with a new gatehouse, queuing lanes, and plans for after-hours entry, as well as parking upgrades, trail connections, and a new sign. Pilot Knoll's boat ramp is also expected to include a paddle sport launch, a courtesy dock, improved lighting, and more ADA accessibility. The day use area is also expected to see some improvements to existing structures. Restroom updates are also included.

Funding is a mix of the original bond money and grants. A Texas Parks and Wildlife grant for $750,000 was received in 2024 for phase one of the project. Some of those TPWD funds will be able to be reallocated to other parts of the project to improve the 60-year-old park.

Construction has been moving in parallel. Highland Village City Council approved a contract for Dean Construction to serve as the construction manager at-risk for the Pilot Knoll Park improvement project at its June 10, 2025 meeting. According to the city's work session on June 9, the design phase is about 70% done, and council wants to ensure a structural engineer comes in to verify there won't be any surprise costs once construction starts.

That last part is worth watching closely. "Surprise costs" is how parks get delayed in year five of a six-year saga. Council also continued to work out where there might be ways to further reduce the overall cost of the project, if needed. That sentence is doing a lot of work. It can mean fiscal discipline. It can also mean scope creep in reverse — things quietly disappearing from the plan after the approval headlines fade.

Pilot Knoll Park borders Lake Lewisville in Highland Village and is approximately 75 acres. Families actually use this place on a Saturday. Getting it improved matters. The CIP approval is real progress. The next test is a bid, a groundbreaking, and a shovel in the dirt. Keep the date you first read this, and check back.