After almost a year of construction, Gainesville will soon celebrate the renovations at Hogtown Creek Headwaters Nature Park.
The city is hosting a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the park’s improvements. The ceremony will be at 10 a.m. on Oct. 12, said Chip Skinner, a city spokesperson. The park is already open to the public, but the ceremony will be an opportunity for the community to participate in a guided nature walk and see demonstrations of the new equipment.
“It will allow us the opportunity to interact with people and share future plans for the park,” he said.
The city is renovating the park, at 1500 NW 45th Ave., in three phases, Skinner said. The first two phases are complete; they involved repaving the parking lot and adding new recreational amenities like a zip line, oval swings and fitness equipment. The third phase will transform the old farmhouse into a museum. The first two phases cost $314,235 in total.
The renovations were scheduled to be completed by November 2017, said Linda Demetropoulos, the nature operations manager of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs nature operations manager, in August 2017.
The project was delayed due to Hurricane Irma, Skinner said.
Gainesville resident Nicole Nesberg, 45, has made visiting the park part of her weekly routine. Her 6-year-old boy loves the new zip line while her 5-year-old boy enjoys the outdoor musical instruments, she said.
“My kids love it,” Nesberg said.
Contact McKenna Beery at mbeery@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @mckennabeery
