Jordan Dawson, Keller’s interim parks and recreation director, presented the capital projects planned for this upcoming and future fiscal years at the July 7 Keller City Council meeting.

What you need to know: Keller’s upcoming fiscal year starts Oct. 1 and will run through Sept. 30, 2027, according to the city website. Reviewing the 2025-26 fiscal year, Dawson said six projects totaled $2.3 million, headlined by the public water feature at Keller Sports Park.

She noted the $1.1 million project will enhance the entry feature at Keller Sports Park. Though it's not a splash pad, it will be used like one. The project is estimated to be completed in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year. Before the water feature can open, Tarrant County officials will need to inspect it, she said.

Other projects included parking lot D improvements at Keller Sports Park, a trail system expansion, a playground structure at Chase Oaks Activity Node Park, the first phase of the irrigation central control system and equipment replacement.

Jabo’s Ace Hardware, which is just shy of 20 years in business in Keller, remodeled the store and held a grand reopening in May. The Keller location has been a tenant at Keller Crossing Shopping Plaza since it opened in February 2007, according to its website.

The big picture: The business gave away a grill and a paint-your-room giveaway as part of the festivities, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce, according to the company’s Facebook page.

The changes included renovating the store and moving products around. The Cove Gifts boutique was moved from inside the store to the two adjoining retail spots, which were vacant, according to a store representative.
 
Zooming in: Jabo’s Ace Hardware sells paint, lawn and garden care, tools, grills, cleaning supplies, electrical and lighting, hardware, plumbing and automotive supplies, according to its website.

• 1580 Keller Parkway, Ste. 50A, Keller

Construction will start on a new apartment complex in McKinney, and a new indoor playground is set to open in Plano. Check out six major North Texas construction permits filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

1. Franklin Branch Apartments: A nine-building apartment complex called Franklin Branch Apartments will break ground in early March 2027, according to TDLR documents. Previous Community Impact reporting states that the apartment complex will offer 288 units. Developer The NRP Group partnered with the McKinney Housing Finance Corp. to build the complex to offer income-restricted rental units.

• Location: 3565 FM 1461, McKinney
• Estimated timeline: March 3 2027-Nov. 4 2028
• Estimated cost: $27.05 million

• Location: 3374 SH 114, Fort Worth
• Estimated timeline: Sept.1- May 7 2027
• Estimated cost: $2 million

Sandy Creek resident Georgia Bishop was out of town when 22 inches of rain fell on parts of northwest Travis County over the July 4, 2025, weekend. When Bishop returned home days later, her community was significantly changed.

What happened: Residents of the hard-hit Sandy Creek neighborhood described a “wall of water” that tore through their community last July, washing away homes, cars and roads. Nine people died in the flooding, including Bishop’s best friend, 16-year-old Felicity Jarmon.

The context: One year later, residents of the unincorporated Travis County community are still working to rebuild from last July’s catastrophic flooding. Central Texas has seen two straight years of intense, deadly flooding in July, leaving some residents on edge as they recover from last year’s disaster and mourn lost loved ones.

Community Impact spoke with Bishop and Kylie Nidever, whose neighborhood in Hunt flooded last year, on July 13, days before heavy rainfall hit large swaths of the state once again. Officials confirmed two deaths due to this year's floods, while 137 people died last July.