New Hanover County – The $258 county budget approved in June for the 2021-2022 fiscal year allocated $4.3 million to improve parks throughout New Hanover.
With this injection, the Parks and Recreation Department has a wide range of projects it plans to tackle in the next year. New expansions and trails are on the horizon, as well as a brand new park.
The Hanover Pines Nature Park, located on Carolina Beach Road, has been years in the making. The 42.5-acre plot will be used as a “passive park,” with an emphasis on retaining the site’s natural features. The garden design was completed in November.
Read more: 30 years under construction, a park is being built near Monkey Junction
Castle Hayne’s northern regional park set to expand; As part of the park’s final phase, additions are expected to include more rectangular fields, latrines, and other infrastructure. Expansion design is planned for this fiscal year.
Construction of a new hiking trail will also begin in Northern Regional Park in the coming months. Given the network of roads that run through the park, the inclusion of a walking trail would give pedestrians their own path.
Multiple off-road tracks will be designed next year. One of the future paths on the N. College Road will run from Gordon Road to Northchase Parkway West. The extension of S. College Road between 17th Street and Monkey Junction is also expected to receive a mixed-use trail, with a design planned for this fiscal year.
The design and construction are also close to a mixed-use trail that will connect Ogden Park to the Military Cutoff Extension, Market Street and the Middle Sound Loop.
Another design project in progress is the addition of 87 acres to Smith Creek Park. According to the Parks and Gardens website, “This additional garden space is expected to be passive in nature and may include elements such as a mixed-use driveway, interpretive signage, play area, display garden, and outdoor classrooms.”
In connection with the renovations, the tennis courts at Long Leaf Park will be repaired and retrofitted with multiple coats of paint. The new LED lights will replace the existing incandescent lighting system.
Long Leaf Park will also benefit from capital improvements such as a new basketball court. An “American Ninja Warrior”-style fitness course opened in late December. The existing basketball court will be converted into a children’s playground with 8-foot rims. And Veterans Park will get a new stadium – after the previous 20-year-old was closed due to wear and tear.
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