Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks said you’ll soon see dirt start moving at the site of the long-anticipated South Lake Regional Park, located on 141-acres near Max Hooks Road in Groveland. The project will be completed in stages, Phase 1 will take approximately 3 years. The entire project will take up to 10 years and, when complete, the $18-million recreational park will feature eight softball fields; four youth and two adult baseball fields; eight multi-purpose fields; two cricket fields, restroom and concession buildings, playgrounds, pavilions, volleyball, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, boardwalk and nature trails, canoe launch, fishing pier, and dog park.
Some other exciting projects coming soon:
Wilson Lake Parkway Park – a new park, located on 40-acres on Wilson Lake Parkway, is tentatively scheduled to begin in Spring of 2019.
Lake David Park (Downtown Groveland)
- Construct a 2,500 sq ft. fenced Splash Park with restrooms and other amenities.
- Remove the existing pavilion and walks to maximize lawn, increase park program and enhance views into the park. Establish a central event lawn to meet the capacity of future large-scale events.
- Procure a new performance structure that meets the needs of park event programs.
- Provide an accessible route to the stage for both the event crew, performers, and audience. The accessible route can also double as a plaza for increased event capacity and park programs.
- Relocate stormwater adjacent to the lake edge and develop a buffer of native planting. Create two stormwater ponds cells, allowing water to stage during high storm events and be treated before entering the lake.
- New Streetscape to match the cross-section of North Lake Avenue north of Broad Street.
- Formalize an open lawn adjacent to the park edge.
The City’s Conceptual Plan for Lake David: The site plan will increase event capacity by opening the park and formalizing the corner as a great lawn. A new performance structure will be procured and located along the western boundary of the park, tucked into the existing canopy.
The “Great Lawn” will be enhanced by a festival street, which provides an approved public right-of-way location that can be closed to traffic on multiple occasions during the year for pedestrian-focused special events. Locating a festival street on North Lake Avenue adjacent to the park enhances the quality of the pedestrian environment, provides connections to the E.L. Puryear Building and park and increases park programming opportunities all without conflicting with the desired traffic circulation.
The existing cross section of North Lake Avenue, north of Broad Street, provides for two way traffic and on-street parking. The cross-section could be extended south of Broad Street to provide increased accessibility to the park and establish the infrastructure for a festival street. During events, the festival street could be closed to traffic and transformed into a pedestrian-only area extending the park’s capacity. In addition, the festival street would join several of the city’s cultural and recreational assets together establishing a significantly larger community resource.
Public Safety Complex Coming Late 2019
The city of Groveland has plans to build a new Public Safety Complex on State Road 50 near Tractor Supply in Groveland. The 2-story facility will house both the Groveland Police and Fire departments.
