A soccer complex proposed for the Burns Bottom area likely will be more like a downtown park, to be enjoyed year-round and offering opportunities for more than soccer, say city officials and project planners, who also discussed connecting the complex to the existing Riverwalk.
“It”s a great site, with a whole lot of assets for the community,” said Randy Meador, of engineering firm Neel-Schaffer Inc., after touring the roughly 70-acre area Wednesday with Ed Blake, a landscape architect from Hattiesburg, and Dispatch Publisher Birney Imes. Imes volunteered to fund the services of the architect.
“With any project like this, you have definite challenges you work around, turning those into components of the park that really make it a better place,” Meador said. “This is going to be something the citizens of Columbus are going to be very pleased with.”
Meador expects the concept to be “refined” into a preliminary design in about six to eight weeks, to be used as a working model for city and county officials.
“Just as there (will be) more of us in the future, there are going to be less and less places that are not highly structured,” said Blake, praising the site, which he said provided a “unique” opportunity for Columbus and Lowndes County. “You”ve got this at your doorstep here. I wish I could be around in 50 or 60 more years to talk to folks to see what they think of it.”
“This is going to be more than soccer fields,” stressed Meador. “This is going to be a place of exploration and discovery.”
“We will not harm the (nearby) wetlands,” Blake promised. “That”s a strain, but it”s also our biggest opportunity. This is a real valuable amenity. All the money in the world couldn”t buy what you have at your front door.”
“It”s an opportunity for a special park, unlike any that”s been done before,” said Meador. “And when soccer is not being played, it”s just not (going to be) an empty field. Lots of people can enjoy it in many different ways.”
“Both said you couldn”t ask for a better site,” Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President and District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders, said of Blake and Meador. “It”s just absolutely wonderful and has got great potential. They said it could very easily be tied into the Riverwalk and rarely do you have what we have.”
Sanders met with Imes, Blake, Meador and Columbus Mayor Robert Smith.
“It”s going to be something that”s pleasant to the eye, plus functional for the soccer complex,” he continued. “It”s going to be wonderful for the environment, and we”re going to save the wetlands. Being so close to downtown Columbus is something unique. It”s going to be a destination place for people all over the South to want to come to Columbus, Miss., to the beautiful complex we have.
“They”re going to get to shop in our area and see all the wonderful historic sites and, at the same time, watch their children play soccer in a setting that”s going to be very unique.”
“I was excited about what the architect had to say,” said Smith. “He said he can be very creative down there, as far as doing the trails. He and Randy, when they put their heads together, I think it”s going to be a sports complex we can be very proud of. From our conversation, I could tell he”s very excited about beginning the process.”
Sanders noted officials hope to start construction on the project in July or August.
All 15 property owners in a core group of land needed to locate the complex in Burns Bottom earlier agreed to sell their property for its appraised value, and officials reported most of the property owners whose land is not essential to locating the complex in the area likely will sell their property for its appraised value, as well.
The total appraisal for the 70-acre Burns Bottom properties came to about $288,000.
With their land totaling about the size of a city block, three property owners, whose property is on the upper northwest corner of the site, likely will not sell their property for the project; the land unlikely to be sold is less than six acres.
The City Council earlier voted to donate 14.9 acres of city-owned property and provide water and sewer infrastructure already in place, as well as in-kind services, for the soccer complex.
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