FOREST ACRES, S.C. — Forest Acres is getting a new park complete with a small splash pad, food truck parking, and a spot for fishing in Gills Creek. City administrator Shaun Greenwood says this space will have something for everyone.
"We're really looking to create a space that people can come to, we can have some very small food truck events, things like that, that will just highlight the area," Greenwood said. "We'll have seating in the park. It's more of a passive park with no playground equipment, things like that."
The park will be located along Forest Lake Place Drive behind the former Zoe's and Forest Lake Fabrics.
The city has already approved the project and they closed the bridge on Forest Lake Place this week. They are asking cars and pedestrians to take a different route.
Brian and Susan Thomas live in a neighborhood where the new park is being built and say they do not mind having to go a different way.
"All progress comes with a little pain," Brian said with a smile.
The city says the bridge could be closed for a little more than a month. However, the couple says they do not mind hitting a few red lights if they can have a nice green space in return.
"I say well 'Yay! Welcome' because we really do not have a space like that available in Forest Aces however we have fabulous restaurants, fabulous shopping, boutique-type things, and of course we want to have an area where we can celebrate that kind of stuff," Susan explained.
Forest Acres is using $2.8 million in federal ARPA funds for the park itself and received $1 million in state funds to rebuild the bridge that faced damage in the 2015 flood. Now the area is being rebuilt with weatherproofing in mind.
"In doing the park, we're also going to replace the bridge, with a little efficiency in government there, so it saves us money in mobilizing contractors and those kinds of things," Greenwood stated.
The park does not have a name yet but will feature a memorial for fallen officers Greg Alia and Richey Finch.
The project should be completed within the next 15-18 months.
The City of Forest Acres wants to emphasize that drivers and those walking in the Forest Lake Place Drive area, avoid the bridge there while it is under construction.