JOURNAL COMMUNITY VERY IMPORTANT PARKS
MAYBERRY PARK (A.K.A. CITY PARK)
THE KROC CENTER AND A.J. WHITTENBERG
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RENDERING PROVIDED/ CITY OF GREENVILLE/ SEAMON WHITESIDE URBAN EDGE STUDIO/DP3 ARCHITECTS
Grand plans are in the works—but when will Greenville’s most anticipated parks actually appear? SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com
Already well known for putting an emphasis on public green spaces and parks, the city of Greenville continues to grace one Top 10 list after another, with photos of Falls Park and Cleveland Park highlighting the city’s achievements. What happens next with the grand plans still on the boards comes down, as always, to money. Dana Souza, the
city’s director of Parks, Recreation and Sustainability, says in 2015, his department will be weighing the possibilities of crowdfunding campaigns and public/private partnerships. In the meantime, here’s a glimpse at Greenville’s most anticipated city parks—both brand new and reborn. PARKS continued on PAGE 12
This park could very well be Greenville’s next crown jewel. It’s on the West Greenville master plan as City Park, but is often referred to as Mayberry Park by the locals longing for its arrival. Regardless of the name, the concept is to create an extensive new city park downtown near the Kroc Center and A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School. The new park could be as large as 160 acres, which would be larger than Cleveland Park and Falls Park combined. Anticipated features include a destination playground, parkour course, softball fields, playgrounds, outdoor theater, soccer fields, tennis courts and a skate park. “It would be Greenville’s version of the Emerald Necklace,” said Souza, referring to Boston’s interconnected chain of parks. But for that emerald necklace to happen, the city’s public works department on Hudson Street—land that is in the floodplain of the Reedy River – must first be relocated to 33 acres of land on Fairforest Way next to the Duke Energy Operations Center. After that, funds will need to be raised and appropriated. Estimated costs are $10 million to $12 million. If the money becomes available, officials say it’s possible the city could begin on the north side of the park (non-Public Works land) while the Public Works move is in process. Souza says about $225,000 has been set aside in the 2015 budget to continue designing the park. Depending on City Council, those funds could either be used to design just the portion of the park on the north side of the river (non-Public Works land) through construction drawings or refine the Master Plan for the whole park, he said.
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