
Grand Prairie Brings Home Gold with New Epic Grand Central Park
Grand Prairie, TX earns the National Recreation and Parks Association Gold Medal Award for 2017
After years of dedication to creating ambitious and inviting park spaces for its residents, the City of Grand Prairie, Texas has been honoured at the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) Annual Conference in New Orleans with a prestigious 2017 Gold Medal Award for its spectacular new recreation centre, Epic Grand Central. The Gold Medal Award recognizes communities across the United States that have demonstrated “excellence in long-range planning, resource management and innovative approaches to delivering superb park and recreation services.” Epic Grand Central has proven the city’s ambition and forward-thinking planning for all of its residents with its 172 acres of indoor and outdoor parks and recreation space, designed for people of all ages and abilities. OpenAire is excited to have played a part in earning this award by creating the 62,000-square-foot operable enclosure for The Epic’s indoor waterpark, Epic Waters.
Dignitaries from Grand Prairie received the award with great gratitude at the NRPA Awards presentation on September 26. The excitement and recognition of the Epic Grand Central Project at the NRPA is a reflection of the enthusiasm felt by Grand Prairie’s residents, who have consistently supported long-term parks planning by approving a total of 0.75 cents in local sales taxes to fund park attractions. To date, Grand Prairie has developed more than 5,000 acres of park space. The Epic Grand Central and Epic Waters both reflect the city’s ambitious attitude toward park development, bringing state of the art attractions, facilities and architecture to serve local residents. OpenAire’s retractable enclosure for Epic Waters is a prominent example of this advanced, community-oriented and forward-thinking development style. With its low-maintenance materials and sunlit design, it will reduce dehumidification and lighting use by up to 27% compared to traditional structures, and contribute to long-term returns on investment for the city. This NRPA Gold Medal Award is sure to be only the start of the great things offered by The Epic Grand Central, which is set to open later in 2017. Both Grand Prairie and OpenAire look forward to sharing this Epic attraction with the world.