US National Whitewater Center considering project at Finlay Park in Columbia
The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte plans to collaborate with Columbia officials on a recreational project at Finlay Park.
The Whitewater Center was the only company that responded to a recent call for project ideas at the downtown park, which has suffered a decline in maintenance and reputation over the years. Columbia residents regularly complain of the proliferation of homeless people populating the park, and the park’s iconic fountain has been dry for years due to lack of funding for a fix.
On Tuesday, Columbia City Council will consider a proposal to collaborate with the Whitewater Center to design a project that could transform Finlay Park.
“There are other elements of it, too, but the Whitewater Center is a big part of it,” City Councilman Howard Duvall said of the plans to revitalize the park.
Nailing down a Whitewater Center attraction — what’s being considered a satellite “outpost” for the center — could make Finlay Park “a regional draw,” Duvall said.
The Whitewater Center is a nationally known outdoor recreation center, set on 1,300 acres about 20 minutes outside of downtown Charlotte. It’s a popular recreation and events venue in the Carolinas’ largest city, featuring activities such as whitewater rafting and kayaking, paddleboarding, rock climbing, ropes courses and mountain biking, as well as regular concerts and festivals throughout the year.
The city and the Whitewater Center have not yet revealed details about what the Finlay Park project could entail.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin noted that while “the space doesn’t allow for whitewater” activities at the downtown park, rock climbing is one of the more popular activities at the Charlotte park.
“If we’re going to turn this into the marquee park it should be, then it’s going to require us thinking big,” Benjamin said. “If we’re going to be the city that we aspire to be, we need to have unique, urban outdoor experiences.”
In addition to a recreational element provided by the Whitewater Center, Duvall and Benjamin said they expect the eventual Finlay Park project to include a private hotel and/or residential element.
The goal of all those elements is “putting eyes on the park,” Benjamin said. “Having people there engaging in activity helps to discourage some of the activities that have been giving some of us concerns.”
“The vision is in motion,” Benjamin said. “We’re talking about engaging the public on what they want to see this crown jewel become in its second iteration.”
For Arsenal Hill neighborhood president Jonathan Comish, who lives within a short walking distance of the park, a Whitewater Center project presents “a huge opportunity to affect some really radical change in downtown Columbia,” including far beyond Finlay Park.
But, he said, “it brings risks and rewards.”
Residents and nearby business leaders undoubtedly will have questions about parking, traffic and overall safety related to any Finlay Park plans, Comish said. He also said there is some concern among residents that the park could lose valuable green space depending on the type of development there.
Columbia leaders have spent years looking for a way to revitalize Finlay Park and a way to pay for improvements.
Along with seeking project pitches this fall, city leaders floated the possibility of selling off a portion of Finlay Park to a private developer to help pay for the improvement of the rest of the park.
Even with that possibility, and with the possibility of the Whitewater Center running park activities, “Finlay Park is a public park and will always be a public park,” Benjamin said.
The Whitewater Center had already been talking with city leaders about a project for several months before the city issued the call for project ideas, Duvall said. The Whitewater Center was the only developer that responded to the open call, city leaders have said.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 11:47 AM.