Work underway to upgrade Grace Street, other parks in county
Crews tore down the derelict water treatment plant on the corner of Grace Street and the Bypass in preparation for the next phase of upgrades to Grace Street Park.
Greenwood County officials and towns throughout the county are readying for the next phase of Capital Project Sales Tax work on various parks, including Grace Street, Magnolia Park, the town parks in Hodges, Troy and Ninety Six and the construction of a new park on Foundry Road, said Josh Skinner, CPST coordinator.
“Phase-two funding will start this October,” he said. “They should get another $1.75 million just for Grace Street Park.”
The first phase of park improvements included the installation of signage at Grace Street Park, along with parking lot improvements, making new trails and tearing the old water treatment building down. In its place, Skinner said the park will have a parking lot as an entrance to the park from Grace Street, with a small playground near the bamboo forest and the trailhead nearby leading to the current park grounds along Merriwood Drive.
“But really, the actual design — the actual Davis & Floyd design — isn’t down on paper yet. It’s just conceptual,” he said.
Bidding for the first phase opened Sept. 21, and the low-bidder was Greenway Construction Group with a bid of $2.2 million for the work at Hodges, Troy, Foundry and Magnolia parks. The bid, Skinner said, was broken up so Hodges, Troy and Magnolia would cost less than $1 million, with Foundry costing about $1.26 million.
The bid is over-budget, however. Phase one’s budget is at about $2,053,000.
“Dwight (Funderburk) is looking at ways to reduce cost,” Skinner said. “Our main focus right now is Hodges, Magnolia and Troy.”
Troy and Hodges parks are supposed to see new signature pavilions to fit community interests there, and most park mock-ups include walking trails, lighting, benches and parking. The Ninety Six town park is set to see its pavilion and bathrooms replaced, as well. Troy, Magnolia and Foundry are set to see new playground equipment installed.
The new park on Foundry Road, to be in a swath of woods between South Main Street and the John G. Lamb center, has run into an ecological issue. A fuel leak from a nearby gas station tank has soaked through the soil toward Foundry Road.
“If you’re down there, you can smell the gas in the creek,” Skinner said. “The city has $150,000 from the EPA to clean up the soil from when it was an actual foundry.”
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control is helping stop and clean the leak, Skinner said.
Funds for phase two come in October, bringing an estimated $3.5 million for further work at Grace Street Park, the second phase of work at Foundry, the Ninety Six town park and walking and bicycle trails that run through Greenwood.
Skinner said if Greenway can get the price of the bid down by compromising on elements of the designs, work from phase one might start at the beginning of next year. If the price can’t come down, however, the county might have to re-bid the project.
“The issue, like we’ve seen at Boozer, is the building trades,” Skinner said.
The bathroom facilities drafted in the conceptual designs have had to get cut back, as material costs have inflated these park bids, he said.
Actual planning for phase two should start soon — Skinner said county officials will soon meet with Ninety Six Town Council to solidify their park’s design concept into an actual plan. There’s no contract yet for the design work.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Sep 30, 2021
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com
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