Chip Gaines is breaking ground on a new summer project, but it’s not his typical kind of fixer upper. Usually, Chip and Jo use their home reno skills to flip homes, updating the landscaping and choosing wall treatments. But Chip’s most recent endeavor reminded us that these skills can be used for more than just home renovations—they can also be used to improve a community. This week, I joined Chip as he kicked off his latest renovation project: A park makeover in his hometown of Waco, Texas.
This demo day started a bit unconventionally—at least, nothing like I’d seen on Fixer Upper before. Instead of hard hats and hammers, everyone grabbed baseball caps and catcher’s mitts to kick off the day. Local little league players joined Chip at a run-down park ball field for one last game on the red dirt diamond before the actual demolition began. After the game, Chip climbed in the excavator to tear down the old dugout structure—which I think he had just as much fun doing as he did running bases with the kids.
We spent the rest of the day cleaning up the demo-ed materials, planting trees, mulching, and preparing the park for a total makeover. The renovation, which is part of a collaboration between Bobcat and the National Recreation and Park Association, is part of a larger initiative focused on improving local parks and community spaces.
“Obviously I’m a big baseball fan, but thinking about parks and recreation, and how we can tie those things together, this project is going to be sort of a slam dunk,” Chip tells Better Homes & Gardens. “We had a beautiful field that decades ago was a wonderful park,” he says. Now, his vision is to bring it back to life so other families can enjoy it the way he’s enjoyed playing ball with his own kids.
Courtesy of Jenn Ackerman
Plus, Chip says not having to worry about the typical construction hiccups that come with a home renovation is a plus. “To bring this kind of thing back to life, there’s not a lot of plumbing we’re having to work around, there’s not electrical that somebody can get injured fooling around with, there’s no roof, there’s no foundation—so I think once we get into this, this is going to be fun.”
And the demo doesn’t stop there: Chip, Bobcat, and the NRPA are teaming up to offer another community the chance at a park renovation as well; through August 16, you can enter your town for a $100,000 park makeover.
“Teaming up with Chip to fix up a ballpark in the Waco area is our way of encouraging people to take action in their own towns,” says Laura Ness Owens, Bobcat’s vice president of global brand and marketing. “It could be by nominating their community for a similar makeover or simply volunteering and getting involved. We want this partnership with Chip and our shared dedication to community to light a spark in others to give back and strengthen communities everywhere.”
Laura Ness Owens, Bobcat
We want this partnership with Chip and our shared dedication to community to light a spark in others to give back and strengthen communities everywhere.
— Laura Ness Owens, Bobcat
Bret Gaither, the senior director of development at the NRPA, explains how the parks association will choose a park project that will make the most impact on a community. In addition to making sure the project is ADA-compliant, they’ll also take the needs of each specific community into consideration.
“We want to make sure it’s an area that’s truly in need, and that folks would actually utilize this space,” he says. “Our organization is focused on our three pillars, which are conservation, health and wellness, and equity, and this project is really cool, because it’s the connectivity of all of those points.”
Next time you’re itching to pick up a hammer and start a new renovation project, Chip suggests looking farther than your own home. Even though this demo day didn’t involve a house, he hopes this fixer upper will feel like home to the families in his community. “It’s projects like this that really bring a community together, today but also decades down the road,” Chip says.
