Fort Worth residents will get to see the new plans for the former Sycamore Park Creek Golf Course at a public meeting being held on January 7.

The meeting is a presentation of the Sycamore Park Master Plan, which lays out a longterm plan for integrating the former nine-hole golf course at Beach and Rosedale streets.

In June, the Fort Worth City Council authorized the closure of the course to repurpose it as a community park.

Sycamore Park is one of the oldest parks in Fort Worth, and spans approximately 94 acres. The Sycamore Creek Golf Course was approximately 66 acres — 30 acres owned by the City of Fort Worth and 36 acres leased from the Tarrant Regional Water District.

In early June, the Water Department announced its plan to install a sewer line replacement that would run through the golf course. Construction of the sewer line and restoration of the property was expected to take up to 30 months.

After neighborhood associations and the Park and Recreation Board all signed off on the idea of closing the course, the city council decided it was not the best use of the land and closed it in December, says City of Fort Worth landscape architect Jing Yang.

"The city lost money on the course for several years in a row, and determined that it wasn't feasible to maintain it anymore," she says.

By repurposing the golf course, the city will make greater and more diverse use of the land. The park can eventually be connected to the Trinity Trail System.

The golf crowd is expected to go to Meadowbrook Golf Course, the municipal course closest to Sycamore Creek.

The master plan considers elements such as layout, parking, the trail system, amenities, and landscaping at both Sycamore Park and at the former golf course, in order to integrate the two spaces together.

The city previously held a meeting on October 24 to seek input from the public on what they wanted in the space, Yang says. Now the city returns with its plan of action.

One restriction regarding the use of the property is that it's partially wetland and therefore can't sustain a permanent structure.

"Instead, we're programming some flexible activities, like trails, picnic tables, and open space," Yang says.

This also fits with the feedback they received at the October meeting.

"We want to plan the park based on people's preferences, and the most popular choice was a hike and bike trail," Yang says.

The city also wants to create a dedicated area where people can study the environment; add water purification facilities; areas to play frisbee; concerts; and other improvements. But for now they're limited by budget.

"What funding we have now is for the first phase," Yang says. "We have funding for basic trail construction, but this will be an ongoing project."

If you want to see what it will all look like, the meeting is at 6 pm, at Sycamore Community Center, 2525 E. Rosedale St.