COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – After years of setbacks, College Station is finally moving forward with a major outdoor destination in its growing Midtown district.
On Thursday night, College Station City Council unanimously approved a $7 million construction contract with Skanska USA Building Inc for Texas Independence Park at Midtown, a 68-acre public park planned for Rock Prairie Road.
For Midtown residents like Jerry and Shelby Behm, the vote was a long time coming. When the couple moved to Midtown in September 2021, they were drawn by a promise: a vibrant, mixed-use community where people could live, shop and gather.
“We moved out here for that initial vision that was kind of promised to the area, a shared kind of retail, commercial, residential kind of space,” Jerry Behm said.
But as years passed and development stalled, Shelby became one of Midtown’s most vocal advocates at city council meetings, with Jerry right by her side.
The couple, along with their dog Remy, pushed the city at every turn to invest in the area they call home.
This week, that push paid off.
“I’m definitely excited for Independence Park,” Jerry said. “It’s kind of the first step to the investment in Midtown.”
The site on Rock Prairie Road has a complicated past.
In November 2022, the city broke ground on what was supposed to be the Texas Independence Ballpark, a $23 million project that would have brought a baseball park to the Midtown area.
But just weeks after breaking ground, an unprecedented amount of rain changed the soil conditions at the site.
After additional testing in early 2023, city staff determined the ground simply couldn’t support a ballpark, and fixing the soil would cost a minimum of $10 million more.
RELATED: College Station discontinues plans for Texas Independence Ballpark
By August 2023, the city pulled the plug, with $5 million already spent. Existing infrastructure, including a restroom building, sewer, water and electrical capabilities, remained on the site.
Rather than walk away entirely, the city went back to the community. They launched a public survey to gather input on what residents wanted to see on the site. The response was overwhelming.
“We’ve gotten over 400 survey responses, which has been really great,” Planning and Development representative Jennifer Cain said back in 2023. “It’s a whole myriad of things. People are saying they’d like to see trails, they’d like to see pickleball, they’d like to see a pool, they’d like to see a pump track where you can ride bikes on.”
The feedback was used to develop a master plan, and in August 2024, the College Station City Council unanimously approved that master plan.
What the Park Will Include
Texas Independence Park will span 68 acres and is estimated to cost around $21 million. Planned amenities include:
A destination playgroundTwo bike parks, including a pump track, dual elevated hub, wall rides, and surface flow trailsA dog parkA fishing pondAn 18-hole disc golf courseNatural surface trailsPicnic areas and parking
In January 2025, the city received a $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to help fund the bike-related elements of the park. College Station was among 21 communities to receive non-urban grants from the commission, which approved a record $30.9 million in local park grants that year.
Texas Independence Park is separate from another major Midtown development currently in the works, The Station Baseball Complex, formerly known as Southern Roots.
That project, proposed for a different parcel within the Midtown Business Park, would bring nine synthetic turf fields, a championship-level stadium, cabins, RV spaces, and recreational facilities to the area.
In February 2026, the city approved a letter of intent with The Station Baseball LLC, but the project is still in negotiations with the city.
What’s Next
For Jerry Behm, having both developments come to Midtown is exciting, but he sees them as just the beginning.
“What I see is the baseball fields and Independence Park as that first investment in this area to kind of attract other commercial and retail space developers,” Behm said. “To grow this area to that vision of College Station Midtown being that spot for people to come and visit, to live, to shop.”
With the construction contract now approved, the city is moving quickly. Construction on Texas Independence Park is expected to begin August 1, 2026. The city is targeting a public opening of December 2027.
For the Behms, and for Midtown, the wait is almost over.
“Texas Independence Park is that first step in the investment of this area,” Jerry said, “but definitely excited to see what’s to come afterwards as well.”
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