Sparky Pocket Park is the site of the former North Austin Electric Substation at 3701 Grooms Street, which was rededicated as a public park in 2009. The North University Neighborhood Association has been working diligently to help transform the site into a neighborhood pocket park. The first phase of Sparky Pocket Park’s redevelopment included the installation of an award-winning public art piece, the Grotto Wall at Sparky Park, as well as landscape improvements to the site. The North Austin Electric Substation Building rehabilitation won a Preservation Austin Merit Award in 2016 and a Preservation Texas Honor Award in 2018.
The Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) rehabilitated the 1930s substation building to better relate to the pocket park. The project began with a schematic design phase in 2013, and construction was funded with a combination of Parkland Dedication funding and revenue funds from the onsite cell phone tower. The project, designed by hatch + ulland, owen architects, features an exterior steel and wood canopy, restored steel windows, and a large accordion door system to connect the interior and exterior.
For more information about reserving the North Austin Substation Building at Sparky Pocket Park, please contact PARD's Special Events Office.