The transformation of Big Spring Park East is becoming easier to see by the day.
Construction on the east side of the park at the site of the former City Hall began earlier this year with crews preparing the site, installing infrastructure and laying the groundwork for the park’s new features.
That’s most noticeable with the pavilion and some of its structural steel elements, giving visitors a much clearer sense of the building that will anchor the east side of the park.
“Much of the work we’ve seen so far has been horizontal, so it can be difficult to see just how much progress is being made,” said Ricky Wilkinson, the City’s General Services Director. “Now we’re getting to the point where we can start going vertical on the buildings and that’s when people will really begin to see the project take shape.”
Other infrastructure work is also moving forward. An underground electrical vault is being installed that will house the transformer for the project and the refurbishment of Church Street is becoming more defined.
The raised crosswalk across Church Street connecting both sides of the park is also now clearly visible. Landscaping will be added to the new median on Church later in the fall.
But the landscaping is only one part of what will make the expanded park unique.
The completed project will feature three levels of plazas, a public restroom building, new playground elements inspired by natural environment and the pavilion will be topped with a vegetative roof. Public art will also be incorporated throughout the space, adding another layer to the park’s design.
The project is also creating new ways for people to move through downtown. Two new accessible routes will connect Church Street to Fountain Circle, including the paved switchback path already visible along the park’s south side and an additional meandering sidewalk connecting Church Street to the plaza levels.
For project leaders, those connections are about more than simply making the park easier to navigate.
“One of the important things this project adds is accessible routes that connect Church Street to Fountain Circle,” said Wilkinson. “Right now, someone using a wheelchair may have to go around the block to make that connection. These new routes will make it easier for more people in our community to experience and move through the park.”
As construction continues, adding the pavilion’s timber frame, the developing plaza levels, progress on Church Street and the future art installations will offer increasingly visible signs of what is to come.
And while plenty of work remains, the finished park is beginning to take shape.
“It’s a tremendous asset for the community, and I’m looking forward to seeing people interact with it,” Wilkinson said.
The project is projected for completion in spring 2027.
