Columbus and Lowndes County officials hope for a lot of public input on a soccer complex — tentatively titled Tan Yard Park — proposed for the Burns Bottom area.
A design proposal, from Columbus” Neel-Schaffer Inc. and The Landscape Studio, in Hattiesburg, will be presented to the Columbus City Council and Lowndes County Board of Supervisors Monday, followed by a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. at the Municipal Complex.
“We”ll have diagrams, schematics and renderings showing the features of the park and the design elements,” Randy Meador of Neel-Schaffer Inc. said of the public hearing.
The 70-acre site likely will include nature trails and green spaces, with pavilions for family and class reunions and other events, in addition to soccer fields.
Tan Yard Park also likely will connect to the Hitching Lot Farmers” Market.
“The big idea is to make the design of the park so it works with the design of the urban fabric of downtown,” said Ed Blake of The Landscape Studio. “This is a little bit different way of thinking about a park, but we”re seeing more and more parks built in our urban core. There”s been a real attempt to honor the street cred and get a lot of the developed park close to the neighborhood edge, so both enhance one another.
“I think another important part of this thing is how the farmers market and the commercial activity surrounding the market is also considered as part of the park itself,” he continued. “I know the major focus is a soccer complex and so we”ve got the number of fields that we need. But there”s also an effort to keep the wetlands that are on the site, without damaging them in any way, and use that as a real asset to the whole park.”
Officials stressed the park will be a full recreational asset, offering opportunities for more than soccer.
“There will be this notion of creating a nature walk through the western part of the park, so kids growing up in urban situations today can have places they can get in, explore and learn about,” Blake earlier said. “Our idea is to have interpretative pieces of the design, so as users are moving through the park, they can learn how all the components of nature fit together to make the scene they”re looking at.
“There”ll be lots of smaller recreational activities, including outdoor pavilions with picnic tables, places to picnic and cook,” he added. “And also we”re having places where free play can take place. (People can play) Frisbee, run, jump, fly kites, or whatever anybody wants to do. Specific desires (noted include,) an archery range, a dog park, places with equipment children can play on. And another major component of the park we”re thinking about is the history of the area.”
The city and the county are co-funding a $1.6 million master parks plan presented by the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority to improve neighborhood parks and create the sprawling soccer complex and park in downtown Columbus.
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