A slate of park improvement projects is transforming outdoor spaces across Bastrop—upgrades that include new amenities, refreshed play areas and more inclusive design elements.

What's happening? The approximately $2.9 million in improvements are being made at four parks:

• Fireman’s Park, 600 Hill St., Bastrop
  • Cost: $256,615
  • Timeline: select areas under construction March 9-April 13
• Fisherman’s Park, 1200 Willow St., Bastrop
  • Cost: $661,253
  • Timeline: restricted access around the splash pad parking lot March 2-May 18
• Mayfest Park, 25 American Legion Drive, Bastrop
  • Cost: $250,048
  • Timeline: select areas under construction March 9-April 13
• Minerva Delgado Park, 709 Laurel St., Bastrop
  • Cost: $1.7 million
  • Timeline: closed Feb. 23-May 18

Community members are invited to Restoration Ranch for an afternoon of food trucks, family-friendly games, pony rides, vendors, raffles and a silent auction.

What's new? The festival will kick off with a 4K Bluebonnet Ruck March. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own backpacks; however, weighted bricks will be available for $5 each as a symbol of the weight many veterans carry, owner Beth Rand said.

Why it matters: "Whether you’re spending the day with family or supporting a cause close to your heart, Spring Fling is a chance to enjoy the ranch while helping advance Restoration Ranch’s mission to serve veterans through equine-assisted programs," Rand said.

• April 11, 11 a.m. (ruck march); noon-4 p.m. (Spring Fling)

• Free (Spring Fling admission, kids 10 and under); $10 (Spring Fling admission, adults); $20 (ruck march)

• Restoration Ranch, 154 Hills Prairie Road, Bastrop

From high school sports amenities to more parks and stores, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Titan NorthPark IX in Georgetown ($18 million): A 281,213-square-foot warehouse shell building will be built.

2. West Bastrop Village Pond Park ($2.6 million): The 106,000-square-foot park will offer sidewalks, athletic courts, playgrounds and open green space.

3. Gattis Retail Center Bldg 2 and 3 in Round Rock ($2.4 million): Developers will build two shell buildings on a roughly nine-acre tract of land as part of a future retail center.

4. Hendrickson HS Turf Field & Pond Design in Pflugerville ($2 million): Hendrickson High School will replace its existing baseball and softball fields with artificial turf fields. The project will feature a new drainage system and modification of the existing detention pond.

5. Eldorado Expansion in Austin ($1.5 million): Eldorado Cafe will add 4,402 square feet in restaurant space after becoming the tenant of an adjacent suite.

The $180 million St. David’s South Austin Medical Center expansion broke ground March 2, ahead of construction on the project’s four-story patient tower later this year.

The details: The new tower will include a 30-bed patient care unit, a 20-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit, four new operating rooms with shell space for future OR expansion, an eight-bed pre- and post-surgical unit, a seven-bay post-anesthesia care unit, and new lobby and waiting areas. The development will also feature new utility infrastructure, a sterile processing department and shell space for future additions.

Quote of note: “As South Austin continues to grow, we’re responding with an investment that expands access to surgical, rehabilitation and inpatient care, while strengthening the infrastructure that supports our clinical teams,” hospital CEO Charles Laird said in a statement.