Orange County unveils plans for Horizon West Park

Orange County unveiled the conceptual master plan for the new five-acre Silverleaf Park during a community meeting Wednesday, May 21, at Hamlin Middle School.

Officials with the county’s parks planning division presented the community survey results, park details and timeline. 

The neighborhood park is being constructed at 16030 Silver Grove Blvd., just south of Hamlin Middle.

Design and engineering for the park could go until May 2026, followed by permitting and bidding, which takes about six months. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027 with completion in early to mid-2028 depending on potential delays. 

The overall budget for the park is $1.8 million, with $300,000 designated for design and engineering and $1.5 million for construction. 

The park will be open from dawn to dusk and will not have lights.

Courtesy image

Survey says

Orange County received 209 responses from the online survey to gauge what residents wanted to see in the park. 

During the county’s first public meeting for the park Thursday, March 6, the most heard feedback included desires for crosswalk access to the park from Hamlin Elementary and Hamlin Middle schools, multipurpose field, playground, sports amenities, consideration for what nearby Homeowners Associations offer and for the park to be open from dawn to dusk.

The top five park amenities from the survey were paved walking path/sidewalk, shade trees, playground, picnic pavilion and multipurpose courts for tennis and pickleball. 

Other comments from the survey included a desire for mini disc golf, tennis and pickleball, shade, playgrounds, and basketball. 

Additional comments in the survey were residents wanting splash pads, restrooms and a gym, but because Silverleaf Park will be a neighborhood park, it is not compatible with these amenities. 

A closer look

The entrance to the park will be at the crosswalk already in place crossing Silvergrove Boulevard from Hamlin Middle to the south. 

Michael Statham, parks program development supervisor, said he’s proposed a speed table to help improve and slow down the traffic on the roadway. 

Statham said on the west side of the park is the picnic pavilion area with grills and tables. These amenities will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

On the east side of the park are the shaded playgrounds, one for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 12. There are six or seven benches integrated into the playground design, which also features resilient rubber surfacing. 

Around the perimeter of the park is a looped walk that’s about 1,500 linear feet, Statham said. It’s designed to have a short loop, medium loop and long loop for residents to walk. The walkway will have trees lining it to provide shade. 

On the west side of the park is a multi-use pickleball and tennis court area. 

There are berms planned for the right of the playground and the left side of the pavilion area to help prevent organized sports from taking over the area. 

“We found that if some of the areas were too large, we get some of the organized sports coming in with wall towers and things like that at 10 o’clock at night, and that’s just not good,” Statham said. 

There are trees planned to line Silvergrove Boulevard to serve as a visual buffer from the schools across the street. 

The park also will have a bike rack at the entrance of the park, two water fountains with bottle fillers, benches, and trash and recycle bins. 

There will not be parking on site as community parks are created with the idea that it’s for residents in the area to walk or bike to the park. 

“If we allow parking, people could be there all kinds of hours, and we don’t staff it,” said Regina Ramos, park planning and development manager for Orange County Government. “We want to be mindful of the people in the neighborhood and make sure this is the kind of park (the community wants) and it is appropriate for the area.”

Silverleaf Park will be a satellite park, meaning Orange County will not staff the park. Maintenance teams will go by the park every so often to address issues. 

After hearing comments from community members at the meeting on the plan, Ramos said staff will look into adding entrance pathways on the east and west sides of the park to allow for more convenient access for residents of those surrounding neighborhoods.