VALPARAISO | The final plans for the proposed downtown park won't be ready until after Jan. 1, but those who attended Wednesday's open house liked the preliminary concepts.
"I'm very impressed," said Bob Rock, who attended the open house at the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce building with his wife, Marlene. "I like the whole concept of green space downtown and a chance for interaction. It's a place for people to sit and meet. The landscaping looks quite nice. Kudos to the parks department for putting it together."
The concepts put together by the Minneapolis-based consulting firm SEH for the half-acre site at the intersection of Indiana Avenue and Lafayette Street will be fine tuned over the next two months to incorporate the public's comments, Parks Director Steve Doniger said. Then, final plans, construction blueprints and a cost estimate will be prepared.
The cost estimate will be accompanied by a fundraising plan and recommendations on how the various features can be built in phases. The features in the concept include a pavilion for live performances at one corner of the park, a comfort station/storage building at another corner, an interactive water feature in front of the pavilion and an outdoor cinema facility.
A gateway feature, landscaping, decorative lighting and seating areas also are proposed. The park could accommodate up to 1,000 people for concerts or other activities. Those who attended the noon and evening open houses suggested things like tables, architecture that matched the downtown buildings rather than park structures, combining the two buildings and using low-impact development techniques like rain gardens, green roofs and porous paving.
"The water feature really gets me jazzed up," Valparaiso YMCA Director Bob Wanek said. "It will naturally draw people just to look at it or kids just to play in it. The theater would be cool. We have a very social community, and people want to connect. The shaded opportunities are great, especially on a hot day, and lots of flowers. Those are things that lift the spirits."
Alicia Skolak said, "I think it will be a great addition to Valparaiso. It's nice to have something to bring the community together. It would put Valparaiso at the forefront of having space to welcome people."
The fundraising effort already is started with about $20,000 coming from Mayor Jon Costas' annual charity ball held in September. Doniger said a Save the Dunes spokesman said grants might be available for a demonstration project of the low-impact development techniques. The city hopes to begin construction of the park in 2009.
