If work goes as planned, Freedom Park will have a patio, picnic shelters, a playground and extra parking by the end of the year.
The James City County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to award a $307,500 construction contract to David A. Nice Builders for the final of four phases of work at the park. A Master Plan for the 601-acre park set out each section of development, but work has been dependent upon funding.
With the latest round of funds becoming available, the first major piece of the park will be up for completion.
Freedom Park officially opened in 2002 after the county acquired the property between in 1995 and 1996. Initially, only the entrance road was put in, followed by tree clearing and trail development. The Free Black Settlement had been reconstructed by 2008, and then the Interpretive Center was built.
Upgrades to the trail connecting Freedom Park to Hornsby Middle and Blayton Elementary schools were completed in May, leaving only the picnic and playground upgrades unfinished.
Since the Interpretive Center – which houses restrooms – was built, park attendance has increased by about 33 percent, said Parks Administrator Nancy Ellis. The only problem with increased attendance was that it created an increased need for parking.
“When there are events and activities out there … parking is a premium,” Ellis said. “We don’t do major events there because of the parking issue.”
The planned parking expansion will add another 30 marked spaces to the existing 100. There is also an overflow parking area for buses, but it does not have delineated parking space. The newly paved ADA-accessible trail connecting the park to the school property, offers the option for guests to park at the schools and walk over to the park, Ellis said.
The new patio will offer opportunities for larger events. The Williamsburg Botanical Garden – located within the park — plays host to weddings, which could use the Interpretive Center meeting room and patio for receptions. The meeting room, which can host up to 100 people, has been used for events nearly 400 times over the past two fiscal years.
“It just creates a very nice space that we feel people will be able to have very nice events on the patio if the meeting room is being used,” Ellis said.
Ellis said park staff hopes to have builders working on the park expansion by Aug. 1.
David A. Nice Builders will expand the parking and put in the picnic shelters and playground pad. A playground installer will then come in and put in the playground, with the entire project likely wrapping up by December.
The park will remain open during construction, but visitors might notice some sections of the parking lot are blocked off for equipment storage during the process. The park has played host to about 600 people for Halloween Tales, a family-friendly October event, for the past two years, but the event this year will be hosted at Mid County Park due to construction.
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