High-voltage transmission lines loom over children playing on rusted metal swings and a merry-go-round at a park in northeast Gainesville.
Northeast 31st Avenue Park, at 1700 NE 31st Ave., will be replaced with a new park on a 3-acre plot of land next door later this year at 1710 NE 31st Ave. The new park will be renamed Unity Park.
The current park was built in the 1960s, and the power lines were constructed in the 1970s, said Betsy Waite, the director of Wild Spaces and Public Places. She said while the power lines are not dangerous to children playing in the park, the situation is not ideal.
Wild Spaces and Public Places will unveil project plans for the replacement park at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Upper Room Ministries, at 3575 NE 15th St.
The organization is part of the city parks department and funded by the half cent sales tax approved by voters in November 2016.
“We want to make sure we heard them at the open house, focus groups and online survey and that we have all those elements on paper,” Waite said. The cost of the project will be decided after the meeting.
Waite said the plot was picked because it had more space.
The project is about halfway through design and is set to have two basketball courts, a pavilion, a community garden, a new playground and an exercise loop, Waite said.
Park construction is expected to begin later this year, and the original park will be demolished once complete, Waite said. The new plot is owned by Gainesville Regional Utilities.
The project also received $10,000 from the Gainesville Woman’s Club in June, Waite said.
For the last two years, the non-profit club focused on Unity Park, said Bonita Kremer, the club’s treasurer.
“Things come to our attention, and then we go out to help,” Kremer said.
Northeast 31st Avenue Park, at 1700 NE 31st Ave., will be relocated away from high-voltage lines and be renamed to Unity Park. It will have a new playground and activity spaces for the community. The area on the right is Northeast 31st Avenue Park and the area on the left will be Unity Park.
