A Greenwood park will have a new trail, amphitheater and more places for visitors to park as part of the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts.
Now, the Greenwood Redevelopment Commission is considering spending $447,000 to create plans for the redevelopment of the park, which is expected to cost between $4.5 million and $5.5 million.
Earlier this year, the redevelopment commission and the Greenwood City Council approved making more than $20 million in projects to improve downtown Greenwood eligible for funding from the city tax increment financing, or TIF, districts. Those projects include reconstructing Madison Avenue, redeveloping Old City Park and building a new connector road between Surina Way and Market Plaza.
The redevelopment commission already has approved hiring consultants to begin creating plans for Madison Avenue and the connector road, and next month it will vote on whether to pay Rundell Ernstberger to create plans to redevelop Old City Park as well.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this galleryWork at the six-acre park is set to begin next year, Greenwood capital projects manager Kevin Steinmetz said.
The cost of the project will be shared between the redevelopment commission, stormwater board and the parks department, he said.
The centerpiece of the improvements to the six-acre park south of Main Street, and between Madison Avenue and Meridian Street, will be converting Machledt Drive into a path for bicyclists and pedestrians. The trail would connect to the trails the city is adding on the east side of Meridian Street as part of its $720,000 in improvements to the area around the Greenwood Amphitheater and along Pleasant Creek. As part of the project, the stormwater department will need to re-line a century-old sewer pipe beneath Machledt Drive, Steinmetz said.
Other improvements include a terraced, stone amphitheater along Pleasant Creek, a new footbridge across the creek, landscaping work along the creek, pedestrian overlooks and creating an event lawn with trails around it on the south side of the creek.
The tennis courts on the east side of the park will be removed, but what will replace them hasn’t been determined, Steinmetz said.
A parks department storage building along Machledt Drive will be torn down and replaced with a 34-space public parking lot, he said. The city also is working to set up an agreement with First Baptist Church of Greenwood to make more parking available for Old City Park through a land swap, Steinmetz said.
With Machledt Drive turned into a trail, drivers looking to get east to west will instead use a new road to be developed south of Old City Park on land from the former Greenwood Middle School. Earlier this year, the redevelopment commission approved paying Rundell Ernstberger $148,000 to develop plans for a road to be built connecting Market Plaza and Surina Way. Construction on that road, which is set for 2018, is expected to cost about $2.2 million.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The Greenwood Redevelopment Commission is considering spending $4.5 to $5.5 million to redevelop Old City Park. Here’s a look at the changes and improvements the city board is considering:
- Replacing Machledt Drive with a multi-use trail
- Replacing a storage building on Machledt Drive with a 34-space parking lot
- Adding a terraced amphitheater along Pleasant Creek
- Landscaping and bank improvements to Pleasant Creek
- Trails connecting the park north to Main Street and south to the Greenwood Public Library
- An event lawn ringed by a trail on the south side of Pleasant Creek
- Pedestrian overlooks along Pleasant Creek
- New footbridges across Pleasant Creek
- Improvements to shelters and playgrounds at the park
[sc:pullout-text-end]
