Greenacres Park nearly ready

The new Greenacres Park is taking shape at the intersection of Boone Avenue and Long Road as construction crews work to install features and plant grass before the weather turns cold.

“They’re actually moving pretty quickly now,” said Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation Director Mike Stone. The west half of the eight-acre park has been seeded and on Tuesday morning sprinklers were watering the area.

The park has already drawn attention, which isn’t necessarily a good thing as the new grass tries to grow. “It’s probably because the play equipment has risen up out of the ground,” Stone said.

An employee of the contractor doing the project lives in the neighborhood and checks on it often, Stone said. Last weekend he apparently spotted people trying to use the park even though it clearly isn’t ready.

Construction has mostly gone smoothly, except for one problem getting the paths properly located. “They did put some concrete in the wrong spot,” Stone said. “They had to pull out about 100 feet.”

Boone and Long have been paved as part of Spokane County’s sewer installation project. The curbs are in and the parking lot should be paved next week. Some buildings are up. The spray pad is complete. Everything is on track to be completed by mid-October, Stone said.

The new park will have some whimsical elements. The buildings are designed to look like red barns in a tribute to the area’s history of agriculture. An oversized apple core will be put in near the play area. A concrete bull is depicted lying down. Stone calls him Ferdinand after the well-known bull in the children’s story. “He is sniffing a flower,” he said.

During the design process numerous neighborhood meetings were held to get input. “We’ve had great support so far from the neighbors,” Stone said.

Greenacres resident Mary Pollard has been attending meetings about a park in her neighborhood for years. “People are so excited,” she said. “It’s really a dream come true. People are thrilled.”

Pollard said she’s already trying to plan a community Fourth of July celebration in the park for next year. “The vision of this park was always gathering the community together,” she said.

Stone is looking forward to having an official grand opening ceremony in the spring after the grass is established and the park can be used. “We’re pretty excited,” he said. “This is our first neighborhood park.”