New park, play area coming to riverfront

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By Tory Brecht | Thursday, May 24, 2007 11:25 AM CDT | () comments

This curvy play stucture by EVOS was selected for the new park because its lines complement the Centennial Bridge. (Contributed artwork)

Davenport’s downtown riverfront soon will be home to a new $50,000 park and playground at a bargain-basement cost to the city.

The city’s Levee Improvement Commission unanimously approved creation of a park located directly to the south of the soon-to-be-renovated Freight House. The site is currently an undeveloped lawn area.

The majority of funding for the park — which will feature a $32,000 state-of-the-art playground, landscaping and walking paths — comes from the Davenport Jaycees, who are contributing $35,000 to the project. Another $10,000 will come from the beatification funds of Aldermen Charlie Brooke, 6th Ward; and Ian Frink and Jamie Howard, both at-large. The commission will pick up the remaining $5,000.

“I see it being an activity generator that is part of bringing the Freight House to life and part of our plans to expand the farmers market,” Charlie Heston, a city project manager, told the commission Wednesday.

Chris Mandle, president of the 57-member Davenport Jaycee’s chapter, said the organization was looking for a “big-impact” project.

“Our mission is about giving back to the community, especially with children,” he said. “It’s a good site down there. It will be pretty visible along River Drive and with the events in the park, John O’Donnell, and the Freight House complex being renovated, it seemed like a natural fit for us to get in on that and to promote the Jaycees.”

Under the terms of a lease the city entered into with new Freight House operator Jeff Johnson — who plans to open a Penguin’s Comedy Club and restaurant in the building — the city will lease back the western one-third of the building, including the covered deck area on the far western end.

The plan is to use the canopied area for seating, musical acts, cooking demonstrations and other activities designed to make the farmers market a more “permanent” setting, said Steve Ahrens, the levee commission development director.

Darrin Nordahl, with the city’s design team, is enthused about the EVOS play structure selected. The curvy, kid-friendly playground is unlike any other in the city and was chosen by the Jaycees because its lines complement the Centennial Bridge, which will serve as a backdrop to the new park.

“We’ve received a lot of good comments about the structure from park and rec departments across the country,” Nordahl said. “The only complaint we heard is that it renders traditional playgrounds obsolete. Glendale, Ariz., they said people drive from miles away to use it.”

Mandle said the Jaycees — who will do much of the landscaping and installation work themselves — plan to have the park finished by the end of June.

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.