Finlay Park facelift closer to reality after approval of $1.5 million design contract
Downtown Columbia’s Finlay Park may finally be getting its long-promised face lift.
Columbia City council Tuesday approved a $1.5 million contract to plan the park’s remodel, which was first presented in 2019 but was put on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will take 14 months to design the 18-acre park and to find a company to build it, and likely another 22 months for the actual construction, according to the contractors hired for the drafting process.
Stantec, an international architectural firm with South Carolina offices in Columbia and Charleston, has been hired to design the park.
The contract is for three years, with the option to extend it by one year, up to two times.
Finlay Park’s existing master plan was presented in 2019. It seeks to turn the park into a multi-use community hub, with a large event space, a modern playground area, public art and abundant green spaces.
“We centered our design around accessibility, a destination playground, increased safety and visibility, rebuilt walls, repaired water features, and the projection of sound,” reads Stantec’s website. “The plan balances the introduction of new elements with unique forms and the charm of the original park.”
Discussions have been held about an eventual partnership with the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, which in 2018 was the only entity to respond to the city’s request for project ideas at the park. It proposed installing a satellite office at the location.
Outgoing Mayor Steve Benjamin previously told The State that without the pandemic, the Finlay Park remodel would likely already be in its construction phase. To save money once COVID-19 arrived, Columbia paused large construction projects, as did many municipalities across the country.
The park has been in decline for years, with a myriad of improvement ideas failing to gain the necessary momentum. When the 2019 plan was introduced, the park’s iconic fountain had already been out of use for four years.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 11:06 AM.
