Southern Indiana city buys Ohio River waterfront park, with plans for key renovations
Ashland Park Property, a green space in Southern Indiana along the Ohio River waterfront, now belongs to the City of Clarksville.
The city paid Marathon Oil Co. $350,000for 18-acres plot that extends from the intersection of W. Market Street and Riverside Drive to the L & I Railroad Bridge. The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department used to lease the park from the company for $1 a year but now has full ownership as it works to develop the area, it said Wednesday in a release.
"Owning the property allows the Town to do more in terms redevelopment and making improvements to the park and Riverside Drive," Ken Conklin, the city's communications director, said, noting it has "some of the best views of the Louisville skyline."
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The release said the city plans on investing in the park, including renovating the Riverside Drive corridor with better roadways, lighting, sidewalks, and "a rebuild of the floodwall entrance to Clarksville’s new Main Street." Construction is expected to start in the spring and will cost approximately $7 million.
“While the Town has been working to purchase the Ashland Park property, the Parks Department has also been working towards obtaining a grant to make improvements in the park itself,” Conklin said. “If approved, this grant funding would allow the Parks Department to purchase and install a new handicapped-accessible playground in the park.”
Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Clarksville, Indiana buys Ashland Park Property along Ohio River
