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Fort Wayne residents will get to enjoy a small water park and amphitheater as part of the $120 million Harrison Square development.
The Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Board on Thursday approved the conceptual plan for the public park to be part of the downtown project. Harrison Square includes a Courtyard by Marriott with parking garage, private condominium/retail building and a city-owned $30 million baseball stadium.
The public park will sit outside the ballpark’s outfield and serve as an amenity during games. At other times, it will be open to the public and offer a small amphitheater with benches and a water park, similar to the one at Headwaters Park, according to Al Moll, parks director. It will also have some open green space.
He said the project is estimated to cost between $500,000 and $550,000, but it will be financed primarily by a private donor. He said the private money has been promised, but the name of the donor – and the park – will not be released until later.
The water park was originally planned for Lawton Park, but Moll said the city decided to move it into the Harrison Square project.
The nearly two- acre park will likely begin construction in mid-2008 and should be ready to open by opening day 2009, when the ballpark is scheduled to open, Moll said.
The board also approved transferring the land for Ewing Park to the Harrison Square project.
The park has already been ripped up as crews prepare the site for construction. The official groundbreaking for the project will be Nov. 29.
In other business, the board eliminated the fee charged to nonresidents for participating in park activities. Moll said the surcharge was implemented in 1991 before the city annexed many of the surrounding areas. He said it typically generates less than $20,000, and the parks department wants to entice people outside Fort Wayne to participate instead of penalize them. Moll also said the fee wasn’t charged uniformly.
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