COVE – Chrissy Babcock got excited one recent morning when her DOW teammates and City of Orange partners came out early to prepare for the Cove Recreation Area ribbon cutting.
There were already children playing and enjoying the amenities.
The public affairs officer with Dow Sabine River Operations has been working on this project with Grants Planner Rita Monson and her City of Orange team for three years.
“We’ve actually got lots of brainstorming on some future ideas we’d like to do,” Babcock shared. “We drive back and forth on this road to go to work every day, so this is our neighborhood, too. We just wanted to have a place that was real nice for our neighbors. In the future, we can have events and talk to our friends in the neighborhood.”
The park is located at 1220 Dupont Drive in Orange.
According to Monson, a lot of the recreation area’s calling cards are funded from a community development block grant.
“We decided that the Cove area really needed to be revitalized, so us, along with Dow, Chevron, Saxon Becnel Nursery and Rogers Lumber, have all partnered together,” she said. “We are hoping to have more neighboring partners come in and help us do this.”
Monson touted the park’s adapted swings, playscape and children’s village.
A pavilion will soon be added so families can host parties.
Other future developments include a walking trail and additional sidewalks.
“For now, kids have a great play area,” Monson said. “They can play soccer, football or whatever it is they want. The Cove area has been very receptive to this. They seem really happy to have an area they can bring their kids and come play in a safe place.”
Emily Mellen,Top of FormBottom of Form community relations representative at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, thanked the community for allowing CP Chem to play a part in the project.
“We’re so happy to help our neighbors and continue this,” she said. “We have a long history of being good neighbors in our community.”
