FOREST ACRES, S.C. — The City of Forest Acres has unveiled plans for its newest city park.
The incorporated neighborhood community between Columbia and Fort Jackson offers mix of housing and retail options centered -- more or less -- around Trenholm Plaza, at the intersection of Forest Drive and Trenholm Road.
The new city park will be located across Forest Drive from Trenholm Plaza, on Forest Lake Place Drive. That road the runs behind Tuesday Morning, Fresh Poke, Forest Lake Fabrics and Zoe's Kitchen. The new park will border along Gills Creek, on the former site of a veterinary clinic that was destroyed during the historic flood of 2015. That building has since been razed and zoning and proximity to the creek prevent rebuilding any sort of structure at that site.
Features of the new park include a grand lawn, a performance stage, an overlook deck on the creek, a splash pad area, space for food trucks, and a memorial to Forest Acres Police Officers Greg Alia and Richey Finch.
There will be removable pollards to stop the flow of traffic from the park entrance on Forest Lake Place Drive to the existing bridge at Gills Creek. There are no plans at this time to incorporate the privately-owned lot on the other side of the creek into the new park's plans. Decades ago, that space, now grown up with pine trees, was once a children's playground with swings and picnic tables.
Note: Video below is from January 2020
