New Whitegate neighborhood park coming, along with Cosmo Park football field improvements
Columbia is getting a new neighborhood park.
This comes a decade after it was added to the city's Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.
Whitegate Park at the corner of Whitegate and Towne drives is on 2.24 acres purchased by the city five years ago.
Half of the $400,000 budget is supported by a JBS Hometown Strong Initiative grant. The other half comes from the Parks Sales Tax. JBS is the parent company of Swift Prepared Foods, which officially opened the Principe Italia plant along Route B/Paris Road last month.
More: Here are the amenities included in Columbia's Whitegate Park proposal
Proposed amenities at the new park include a new playgrounds for multiple ages, shelter, basketball and handball courts, youth activity court, open playfield, one disc golf basket, sidewalks, lighting and tree plantings. The updated proposal presented Monday cut back on the number of trees in the original plan. The shelter will have picnic tables and electricity. A water fountain and bike racks will be adjacent to the shelter.
Proposed plans are not final dimensions and so amenities may be more spread out once construction plans are finalized.
The city is working to ensure playground equipment does not conflict with the plans of United Community Builders and its nearby community center, said Gabe Huffington, parks and recreation director, adding UCB is debating whether it will have public or private access to its playground.
The handball court will be a first-of-its-kind for the city, Huffington said. Input the city received from the Reentry Opportunity Center, which has a transitional home in the area along with its offices along Paris Road, provided the basis for its inclusion in plans.
"A lot of individuals who are reentering society and have been in some sort of prison system, played a lot of handball and so we have had those requests a couple different times the last 10 years," he said.
Third Ward Council Member Roy Lovelady noted his pleasure that concerns from a November public meeting were addressed, such as electricity access and fewer trees leaving more open play space. The park is located in the Third Ward.
Cosmo Park football fields
Two football fields at Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area will also see improvements thanks to donations from the John D. Hall Memorial Trust.
Fields five and six will get new goal posts, scoreboards and construction of a new concrete bleacher area with Americans with Disabilities Act seating. The seating at field six includes a new grandstand and renovation of the Urban Wussler shelter/concession facility.
The grandstand at field six will be able to welcome nearly 500 spectators, Huffington said.
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: New park, improvements to another approved by city council
