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Fuquay-Varina reviews two draft designs for Library Park; public comment to follow
Summary
Town staff and SITE collaborative presented two concept designs for Library Park — a staffed mini-golf attraction and a flexible urban plaza — and said both options will be posted for public comment before a final recommendation returns to the board.
Fuquay-Varina town staff on Tuesday presented two draft concepts for improvements at Library Park, a small park near the downtown library, and said the designs will be posted for public comment before staff returns with a recommendation in October. Parks and Recreation Director Jonathan Cox introduced the work the town commissioned from SITE collaborative and said the presentation was for information only.
SITE collaborative landscape architect Graham Smith said the team developed two preferred designs after spring site analysis and public-facing refinement: a mini-golf concept that would include a staffed check-in, restrooms, fencing and nine holes oriented around a 10-foot grade change across the roughly three-quarter-acre site, and a plaza concept featuring a water wall, play elements and a community lawn. "This is what we do and what we love doing," Smith said while introducing the concepts.
Smith presented high-level cost estimates. The mini-golf concept was estimated at about $2,500,000 and includes grading, retaining walls and controlled access; the plaza concept was presented at roughly $2,290,000, about $210,000 less largely because it requires less grade manipulation. Smith said eliminating or scaling back the water feature in either concept could reduce costs by an estimated $300,000–$400,000.
Board members and staff discussed operating needs and design trade-offs. Cox and Senior Assistant Manager Matthews said staffing and hours are programming decisions the board can set later; Cox said the mini-golf feature would likely require staffing for check-in and to limit damage to equipment. Smith and Cox noted ADA circulation and the site’s 10-foot drop are the primary engineering and cost drivers for the mini-golf option. Commissioner Tim Gardner asked that the design consider multi-generational use and the project’s relationship to nearby Ashworth Historic Park; Cox said the consulting team intentionally limited the planning area to Library Park to avoid controversy about changing the historic site but said the board could direct staff to revisit combined planning.
Cox said both concepts will be posted on the town’s Let’s Talk FV site for a period of public comment and that staff expects to return with a recommendation at the board’s first meeting in October. No board action was required or taken at Tuesday’s meeting.
