Photo Credit: Courtesy of The City of Round Rock
The crowd counted down “5-4-3-2-1,” and the fountain erupted with a colorful light display to celebrate the grand opening of the Sharon Prete Plaza in Round Rock, Texas. The plaza is named for the retired director of the parks and recreation department for her 30 years of service to the community and for laying the foundation for the department.
Located on Main Street in the heart of downtown and nestled among the historic Nelson Hardware building and the City Hall Business Center, the plaza provides an oasis of leisure to the community as well as a spark of redevelopment to the downtown area.
The site was originally home to city hall and then repurposed as the city’s first senior center. When the center moved to the new Allen R. Baca Senior and Community Center in 2006, community discussions began as to how to use the former property. A main concern of the area businesses was the lack of foot traffic on the weekends and a lack of parking during the week. These two topics framed the conversations for how this space should be used.
