What was once a pie-in-the-sky wish list of ways to improve the Central Park experience now has some dollar figures attached.
The Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board on Tuesday seemed to fully embrace final recommendations on 10 ideas that would significantly change much of the Center Lake beachfront and parts of the adjoining Central Park.
The proposals put fourth by Design Collaborative, Fort Wayne, include renovating Center Lake Pavilion and constructing an open- air building next to the pavilion that could include an ice rink.
Chris Stine, of Design Collaborative, assigned a cost range to each of the projects, but did not provide a total in his presentation to the board. The combined cost is roughly $6.27 million.
Below is a list of the proposals. Stine’s estimates included price ranges. Prices listed below are estimates based on those figures.
• Renovation of the pavilion to include more restrooms and more storage, among other things, and renovation of the second floor to accommodate a new park office. $1.2 million.
• Construction of an open-air multi-use building west of the pavilion that could include an ice rink. Cost would be $2.8 million, or $800,000 less if the rink is not part of the plan.
• Construction of a boardwalk from the North Buffalo Street project to Bixler Park near Arthur Street. $185,000.
• Park maintenence facility and parking changes along part of Canal Street. $1.2 million.
• Pier replacement at Center Lake. $187,000.
• A spruced-up entrance off North Detroit that would include a turn lane into the park. $65,000.
• Greenhouse and education center where a gas station sits at the corner of Canal and Detroit streets. $460,000.
• Improvements at the park entrance at the corner of Fort Wayne and Indiana streets. $84,000
• Sculpture garden near Canal Street. $70,000.
• Crosswalk at North Detroit to Arthur Street. $25,000.
There is no timetable or list of priorities associated with the proposals.
Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said the list gives the city a chance to make some priorities with a loose idea of the costs associated with each project.
“We’ve got to involve the planning department, certain agencies, people in the community – we’ve got to look at all of our sources and get people heavily involved with this … and see where the funding can come from,” Plummer said.
Probably the most pressing decision will be the renovation of the pavilion and the new park office.
The office on Canal Street is in the middle of the upcoming Buffalo Street project. The outline of a new road that will eventually connect Indiana and Buffalo wraps around the office.
The Buffalo project is a mixed-use development being handled by a private developer and is expected to be under construction by next spring. The work coincides with the city’s construction of a park plaza nearby that will tie in with the park system to the east.
Plummer said he was unsure how soon his staff would be displaced.
Another option for park offices could be the Pete Thorn Center on Park Avenue, but Plummer said that has limited space and leaves the staff disconnected from the Central Park area.
One change made from an earlier proposal involves the desire to connect the boardwalk to some kind of pedestrian bridge across Detroit, which is a state highway. The idea is to help create a path that leads to Pike Lake and Lucerne Park.
Plans for the pedestrian bridge have been set aside in favor of a crosswalk that would include a stoplight at Arthur.
Stine agreed the idea of a stoplight might raise eyebrows and that it would be more complicated by the role of the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Park board member Larry Ladd questioned how frequently the state would allow such a crosswalk.
Similar plans have been developed in Fort Wayne and other communities working to develop broad bike and pedestrian trails, Stine said.
