Columbia continues burst of parks renovations with two new openings
Tuesday was a bad day for ribbons in city of Columbia parks.
City officials and neighborhood leaders had ribbon cuttings and grand openings for new playgrounds and other amenities in two Columbia parks on Tuesday, the latest moves in what has been a burst of new activity and announcements in the capital city’s parks system.
On Tuesday morning, the city debuted a new $100,000 playground — paid for with a grant from Wells Fargo — in leafy, tree-lined Marshall Park in the Earlewood neighborhood. Later in the day, it marked the opening of a new-look Fairwold Park in North Columbia. That was a nearly $400,000 project that included a $50,000 grant from Wells Fargo, with the rest of the funding coming through federal grant dollars. The Fairwold project included new playground features, outdoor gym equipment, concrete walking paths, new landscaping and fencing and more.
Third-term Mayor Steve Benjamin noted that private dollars were key to making them happen.
“It illustrates the importance of public-private partnerships,” Benjamin said. “We all have to invest in the community, and it’s not all meant to be done by the public. ... This type of investment can dramatically improve property values. People want to be near high-quality public facilities. The walkability score goes up dramatically.”
The Tuesday park openings were just the latest in what has been a streak of parks-related announcements and programs. In January, Council approved $169,000 for new lights at the baseball field near the sprawling Colony apartments in North Columbia. It also approved $1.5 million for a big round of upgrades at Hyatt Park, and is in the midst of naming the soon-to-be-open public park at the BullStreet District. Also, the city’s Parks Foundation recently received a $20,000 grant for a youth mentoring program, and also is funding the painting of murals honoring African American history on four city buildings.
All of it comes just as the city is set to reopen many parks facilities that had been shuttered amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assistant City Manager Henry Simons said the recent sprint of parks refurbishments and new programs comes as little surprise, as the city continued its work on parks even amid COVID-19.
“It is intentional,” Simons said. “A lot of this came about during the pandemic. We worked through the pandemic. Because of the (worst days of) the pandemic, we couldn’t do actual ribbon cuttings. But the work was being done. It was very intentional, and we have a (parks) master plan. We are trying to focus on that plan to make sure the appropriate equipment is installed in the community.”
But as the city has continued to with parks upgrades and new initiatives, one park project remains in limbo. Council has long planned an $18 million upgrade to battered, aging Finlay Park in downtown Columbia. However, as a big ticket item, it was sidelined because of fiscal uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.
However, Benjamin, who is in his last mayoral term after deciding not to seek reelection this year, said a Finlay Park overhaul is still a possibility.
“It was teed up before the pandemic, ready to rock and roll,” Benjamin said of Finlay Park. “There is still a significant amount of interest in wanting to see some investment there, and we hope and pray it will happen soon.”
