Finlay Park for sale? Columbia looks for new ways to improve iconic downtown park

Columbia hasn’t come up with the money to fix Finlay Park, so it might sell part of it to fund a renovation.

Or, it could get private businesses to set up shop at the park and help generate revenue.

Or — it could be open to almost anything else.

The city is looking for any great idea to help finally transform downtown’s once-signature park, which has fallen into disrepair over the years.

The city recently cast a broad net to private developers by issuing a “request for qualifications,” which is a casting call for projects that could invigorate the park and help overcome the financial barrier that has kept the city from doing a major revamp of Finlay Park, named for the late Kirkman Finlay, a former Columbia mayor.

“The people of Columbia deserve a beautiful, safe and active Finlay Park that speaks to the vibrancy of our community,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said. “A creative partnership that speaks to those values will help build a sustainable park that will serve generations of our Columbia families.”

City leaders already have been in talks with one private developer that has presented an attractive concept, City Councilman Howard Duvall said. Now they’re looking to see what other ideas are out there.

Finlay Park’s iconic fountain hasn’t flowed for several years, though the city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to work on it.

While the park hosts occasionally well-attended events such as concerts and movie nights, its general reputation has suffered for years. Many people have complained about the prevalence of homeless people at the park. And its reputation took another blow with a fatal shooting last summer.

The park did get new playground equipment last year.

Grand ideas have been floated to revitalize the park, including a community building, a series of waterfalls, installing the famous “Busted Plug” fire hydrant sculpture/water feature and even a miniature beach, an idea once floated by Benjamin.

But those ideas have come with hefty price tags — $20 million or more for some proposed plans. And though there have been talks for years, there has been little improvement at Finlay Park.

The city’s new tack is to get private developers to possibly chip in on the cost of revamping the park.

Benjamin has touted public-private partnerships as possible solutions to a number of expensive issues city leaders want to tackle, such as a new City Hall and more affordable housing.

Depending on proposals, a Finlay Park partnership could include selling a piece of the park property — perhaps the southwest corner, Duvall mentioned — and using the revenue from the sale to reinvest in the park. Perhaps such an arrangement would put a hotel or condos or some other active business on that corner of the park, which would immediately increase the park’s attractiveness simply by putting more people there, Duvall said.

It’s just an idea, but the request for qualifications indicates the city’s open to it.

Plus, Duvall said, any taxes generated by new private development at or around the park could go toward future maintenance of the park.

An improved Finlay Park could have a domino effect on downtown development, said Fred Delk, director of the Columbia Development Corp., which guides and encourages investment in the city center.

“Development creates development,” Delk said. “Once more activity comes there, more activity will come in that immediate vicinity.”

Delk, Benjamin and Duvall all said they are hopeful that this time, there’s more than just talk about making a change at Finlay Park.

“I think we’re more than dreaming at this point,” Duvall said. “I think we’re far enough along in negotiations that we know that something very good can happen to the park. But we wanted to make sure before we went any further down this road that there weren’t other ideas that were even better.”

The request for qualifications submission deadline is Sept. 6. A timeline by the city suggests that by January 2019, City Council could approve a project at the park.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 4:51 PM.