- The $9 mil. project represents phrase three of the city's riverfront master plan.
- The park will feature a playground, splash pad and plenty of seating along the park.
- The park will be a central area connecting downtown and the river bans with a roughly 6 mile paved walking trail.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Friday night neighbors and visitors will make their way to the Chason Park grand opening.
“We love seeing visitors from all over and so far we’ve received a lot of great feedback from the community, Randee Eubanks, special events coordinator for the city of Bainbridge.
The Chason park expansion is a $9 mil project and is linked to a connectivity project known as the city’s riverfront master plan, a plan that aims to connect the city square to the banks of the Flint River in an effort to revitalize a over 100 year old park while adding more recreational activities.
Assistant city manager Roy Oliver breaks down why Chason Park is the key to linking major parks of the city.
“You can get from Chason Park all the way down from the river bank and then you can stroll all the way down to the Earle Mae Recreation area,” said Oliver.
Projects like the Chason Park expansion come after recent years of city growth.
I spoke with the director of the downtown authority, Amanda Glover; she says the city previously qualified as a rural zone.
The rural zone is an initiative through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs which allows special incentives to employers and developers moving to Bainbridge from 2018 to 2022 when the city was considered a rural zone.
“There's three tax incentives; job tax credit, rehabilitation tax credit, and investment tax credit,” said Glover.
Those incentives amounted to 1.6 mil. In available tax credits.
Glover said the expansion projects like this speak to the fact that Bainbridge is thriving.
“It’s become a great hub for people to gather, to meet with families and friends,” said Glover. “We hope to attract those people downtown to shop, to dine, and stay in our area.”
Even those behind the project and celebration plans remain in ah of the projects completion.
“This just makes Bainbridge a better place to live and hang out,” said Eubanks.
Friday night’s ribbon cutting kicks off at 5 o’clock.
Regular park hours in exception to Friday tonight’s event are from sunrise to sunset.
