Opening date for Columbia’s Finlay Park was delayed. What needs to be finished?
A shiny, new Finlay Park, has been a long time coming in Columbia. And while the opening date is getting closer, there’s still more to be done.
The $24 million project to restore the city’s once-renowned park, which had fallen into disrepair since it’s famous water fountain ran dry in 2014, included plans for an event stage, a playground and sprawling green space. A park for “all people,” City Manager Teresa Wilson previously told The State.
But Finlay Park’s reopening, originally slated for September of this year, was delayed.
Still, Henry Simons, assistant city manager, said the city is making “significant progress” toward Finlay Park’s revitalization and grand reopening, which is scheduled for Nov. 15. The event will show off the park’s new features, and will be followed by a popular annual indie rock celebration, the Jam Room Music Festival, which will move off Main Street and into the park.
“Final preparations are now underway to complete key features that will welcome the community back to one of Columbia’s most iconic gathering spaces,” Simons said in a statement.
The park still needs some work, including final touches to water features, playground surfacing, strolling gardens and landscaping. Art pieces, site furnishings and safety enhancements like cameras and call boxes still need to be installed.
The city declined to grant The State newspaper an interview for this story.
Conditions at the innovative park, first conceptualized by former Mayor Kirkman Finlay in the 1970s, which had once been “Columbia’s meeting place,” deteriorated over the last decade. Visitors were few and far between, and it became a host to some violence, including shootings and a physical fight that led to a death.
The renovations came after years of discussion about what to do with the property. The cost was originally estimated at $18 million in 2019. It rose to more than $21 million in 2022, before another $2 million was required before breaking ground. Construction on the dilapidated park, which is some 14 acres at the corner of Assembly and Gadsden streets, began more than two years ago in the fall of 2023.
With another $2 million budgeted for operating costs, city leaders are adding safety measures.
Finlay Park will be fully staffed with park rangers, police officers dedicated to the site, and overnight private security. Rangers will be at the park seven days a week, between 6 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Private security officers will be on site from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. A maintenance crew will also be on site.
