UTSA students help H-E-B build a new SPARK Park on East Side

By Jesus Chavez
Public Affairs Specialist

(June 15, 2015) – It was a warm morning in June when nine UTSA Construction Science and Management (CSM) students, decked out in orange polo shirts, gathered at East Side San Antonio’s Wheatley Middle School to ensure the construction of San Antonio’s new SPARK Park went off without a hitch.

The Wheatley SPARK Park project was the culmination of six months of meticulous planning by H-E-B, San Antonio Sports, the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), the City of San Antonio and UTSA. SPARK Parks serve as school playgrounds and as community parks for the schools’ adjacent neighborhoods. The San Antonio SPARK Park program is based on a similar initiative that began in Houston several years ago.

The Wheatley SPARK Park project was one of several volunteer efforts that H-E-B hosted as part of its 30th annual Tournament of Champions charity event series. More than 300 top-level executives from the grocery giant and many of its vendors volunteered their time to complete the project.

Josue Martinez, senior CSM major, was one of the UTSA students managing the build, with guidance from his professor, Yilmaz Hatipkarasulu, chair of the Department of Construction Science. Serving as the student leader for the overall project, he managed the completion of the Wheatley SPARK by assigning tasks and providing resources to the various H-E-B volunteers.

“It is an amazing opportunity for any student to help coordinate a project that matters to the community,” said Martinez. “It gave us a chance to demonstrate our abilities in managing construction projects and to build professional trust within the community.”

Initial site plans and designs for the Wheatley SPARK were completed by Genevie Ramirez, a graduate architecture students under the supervision of professor Taeg Nishimoto. Ramirez, Nishimoto and the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning have been involved with the SPARK Park program for many years, although this is the first time that UTSA’s CSM students have been involved in the construction of a SPARK Park.

The Wheatley SPARK features refurbished facilities, walking trails, a large playground area for children, new soccer fields, and basketball and tennis courts. It even houses a circuit of exercise equipment, following the advice of former National Football League player Priest Holmes.

The experience of managing a construction project of this size and impact is one that the CSM students won’t soon forget.

“It feels good to have worked on this project,” said Carlos Aguilar, senior CSM major. “This is what I went to school to do. This is what our program is about – completing impactful projects on a minute-by-minute timeline.”

For more information about the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning and its departments, including the Department of Construction Science, visit cacp.utsa.edu.

(Read an in-depth story about the full scope of UTSA’s involvement in the Wheatley Middle School SPARK Park project in the upcoming issue of Sombrilla Magazine due out later this month.)

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