Pack Square Park Will Be a Green Oasis in the Middle of Downtown Asheville
downtown asheville, george willis pack, green, marilyn geiselman, outdoor, pack square park, parks, recreation,
The underground utilities already have been installed, the concrete sidewalks have been poured and the roads have been paved.
Now the people of Asheville will begin seeing the above-ground beauty that will eventually be Pack Square Park.
Construction will continue through 2008 to complete the $22.5 million park that will grace downtown Asheville. The 6.5-acre open green space is scheduled for completion in early 2009.
“Construction workers have been hauling pipes and steel around downtown and have worked almost two years underground, and that has been driving people crazy with curiosity,” says Donna Clark, communications director for Pack Square Conservancy, which is overseeing the entire project. “But throughout 2008, people are going to see what Pack Square Park will truly be all about.”
The vision of a park in Asheville’s historic central square actually dates back more than 100 years. In 1901, philanthropist George Willis Pack gave Buncombe County a plot of land for a new courthouse on College Street, with two stipulations.
The terms of the gift required the county to demolish the old courthouse, which then stood on the square, and to maintain the square as a public park forever.
“There has never been an actual Pack Square Park, but there will be now,” Clark says. “The green space will be home to attractions such an amphitheater, a pavilion/visitors center with a small cafe, water fountains, a garden, courtyard plaza and a granite veterans’ monument. Three local artists have also been commissioned to add tapestry and sculpture to the project. It is going to be incredible.”
The park will encompass all of the land between the existing Zebulon Vance Monument and the two main government buildings – Asheville City Hall and the Buncombe County Courthouse.
Clark says Pack Square will be a crown jewel for the entire city because there are no other sizeable parks in the downtown area.
“Downtown Asheville has plenty of art, performance venues, nice hotels and great restaurants, but no open green space,” she says. “A busy park is a good morale booster, and the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department already has 70 annual events tentatively scheduled on the site once it finally opens to the public.”
Pack Square Park is jointly owned by the city of Asheville and Buncombe County, and the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department will maintain the property. The entire project will be managed by the nonprofit Pack Square Conservancy that was established in 2000.
“The one and only focus of the conservancy is the park itself, and the organization will continue to function after it opens,” says Marilyn Geiselman, executive director of Pack Square Conservancy. “We were responsible for raising money for construction of the park, and we will make sure that the entire 6.5 acres remains pristine during its entire existence.”
The $22.5 million for the project primarily came from six individual donors, who gave a total of $12.5 million, a figure that also includes a $3.8 million federal grant.
“There have been more than 700 donors in this effort,” Geiselman says. “Many of the donations have been $25 to $50. One man at a festival gave us $2. Everything we have raised is going toward making this a dynamic park that the residents of Asheville can be proud of for generations to come.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Ian Curcio
