The city of Southgate was established in 1907, over 100 years ago. As streets and buildings age, the city is looking to start renovations and updates.
The city has already begun transforming the tennis courts between Electric Avenue and Evergreen Avenue into a community park. Initial preparations for this project began in 2025 and the city is now looking to move forward with phase two: the building phase.
The city is partnering with Southbank Partners, a group that has worked with the city on various other projects. The timeline for this community green space that the CEO and president of Southbank Partners, Will Weber, has proposed is to approve an agreement with a contractor in March of this year, break ground in May and have a ribbon cutting for the finished project in August.
The tennis courts that previously occupied this space had water damage beyond repair. The city’s Park and Tree Board began planning the reconfiguration of this space roughly a year ago.
During the first phase of the project, the city spent roughly $38,000 preparing the space for the work. The total cost of the second phase, which includes the building portion, is estimated at around $95,000. Weber has already secured a $5,000 grant from Duke Energy. The city has also already budgeted $50,000 from the fiscal year 2026 city budget to go towards the project. This leaves roughly $40,000 left to be contributed to the project.
“We certainly plan for the remaining portion of that budget to come in from some community donations and future city support in the next budget,” said Weber.
Mayor Jim Hamberg stated that he hopes to add another $50,000 to this year’s budget for the project.
The plan for the space includes a walking path, a flagpole in the center, native plants, water fountains and pet clean-up stations.
“This is meant to be a quiet space,” said Mayor Hamberg.
The main entrance to the space will be on Electric Avenue, with plans for an ADA-compliant walking path from the parking lot down into the park space.
Not only is the city working to bring this community green space to life, but there are also plans to renovate several streets within the city.
The city agreed to a bid from Riegler Blacktop to replace a section of Blossom Lane from the intersection with Valley View Drive to the intersection with Tracy Lane. This bid also includes replacing part of Valley View Drive itself from the intersection of Blossom Lane to the intersection of Heather Hill Drive as well as replacing the curbs on Valley View from the intersection of Heather Hill down to the end of the cul-de-sac. The bid for this section of work came to $979,566.
The city also agreed to an alternate bid from the company to do work on Tracy Lane at the same time. The total for this section of work is estimated to be $289,435.
The total estimated cost for all the work on these streets, including a contingency budget in case any issues arise, is $1,459,001.
The city’s treasurer was not in attendance at the Feb. 18 Southgate council meeting where this discussion took place, so the mayor is waiting to discuss where the money will come from when she is available. The idea is to take funds from the general fund to put towards the project.
“This is probably going to be one of the last large projects that we are going to be able to do for quite some time,” Hamberg stated.
The city engineers hope to start the project in early April, with work spanning over a six-month period. When work begins, Riegler Blacktop will notify residents in the area.
Not only are the city and its council working towards improvements, but Greg Duty, the superintendent of Southgate Independent School District, is also looking to make changes.
Duty has plans to create a community activity center for the school. He is currently in communication with state legislators, asking for funds to make this center possible and to make the school more ADA-compliant.
“We’re celebrating our 125th birthday this year,” explained Duty. “We came into existence in 1901… before the city was formed.”
The superintendent said he feels he has the responsibility to leave the school better than when he began working there 10 years ago. He asked the mayor and the city council to support him in his efforts to secure state funding for his vision for the school.
“It’s time for us now to be able to talk to the appropriate people and say, ‘Why not Southgate?'” Duty said.