P&R Annual Report 2019

Reimagining Our Parks

The Instagram-worthy illustrations of an imagined future Country Park sparked the community’s curiosity when they debuted last spring. The Battleground Parks District – a joint tourism venture with upward of 2 million visitors a year -- is starting to take shape. With it, Parks and Recreation facilities within the district will be reimagined as well. In the last year, a City-hired consultant has worked with the nonproft Greensboro Science Center on conceptual designs for the busy border area between Country Park and the center. This summer, the new Greensboro Rotary Club Carousel opens there. The consultant envisioned what else would complement the shared space, like wide, inviting boardwalks, a treehouse for kids, a zipline, and an amphitheater. It will build upon the $15-18 million expansion at the science center, which includes a Mayalan tiger breeding center. “It all kind of works hand-in-hand,” Glenn Dobrogosz, CEO of the Greensboro Science Center, told the News & Record. “Drawing in just that focal point of what’s unique to Greensboro — our history, our science, our people, our culture, our art — all that comes together in a beautiful 400-acre piece of land.”

The next step, scheduled to being in 2020, is development of schematic designs and prioritizing which elements to build frst. Key features might be bathrooms, new play equipment, and additional picnic shelters. Parks and Recreation’s planners are also in the process of creating a new master plan for the Spencer Love Tennis Center, another key tourist destination in the Battleground Parks District. The tennis center will get 12 new courts.