By RAY REYES
The Tampa Tribune

PLANT CITY - The state has targeted only one recreational facility in Hillsborough County to receive a portion of a $33 million budget aimed to expand and improve Florida parks.

The local winner of the state’s recreational facilities sweepstakes?

Ellis-Methvin Park, located on the 2000 block of East Cherry Street and adjacent to Hillsborough Community College’s Plant City campus off Park Road.

The $200,000 grant will be used for the continuing development of the 46-acre site, which is also the home of the $1.5 million Plant City Tennis Center.

The city will match the state grant with $200,000 of its own money, said city parks and recreation Director Jack Holland, to ensure that the Ellis-Methvin complex will become one of the premier recreational facilities in eastern Hillsborough County.

Plans for the state grant and matching city money call for improvements that include:

$99,750 each for a baseball field and softball field.

$100,000 for a combination concession building with public restrooms.

$60,000 for a parking lot.

$22,500 for a 900-foot walking trail.

$16,000 for landscaping.

Holland said his department will put out bids this summer and hopes “to see dirt moving by fall.”

This is the third grant the city has received through the Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. The city was awarded $200,000 last year for the construction of a large central playground, three large pavilions and an aluminum fishing pier.

“Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grants are an investment in the future of Florida’s natural resources and in the state’s citizens,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole said in a news release.

“Setting aside recreational green spaces within Florida’s local communities is imperative to land conservation and essential to creating strong communities.”

Holland said the city is applying for a fourth grant in September which will help with the completion of the park’s final phase. All the amenities are expected to be operational within three years, Holland said.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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