Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hampstead Kiwanis Park opens Thursday; Central Pender Park and Abbey Nature Preserve move toward completion
Summary
Pender County parks staff reported Hampstead Kiwanis Park Phase 4 will open with a grand ceremony Thursday, Central Pender Park is under active construction with an estimated completion by Halloween, and the county has taken ownership of Abbey Nature Preserve with design and permits largely complete.
Pender County parks staff told the Board of Commissioners that Hampstead Kiwanis Park Phase 4 is complete and will open Thursday with a 4:30 p.m. grand‑opening ceremony. The expansion adds multipurpose fields, tennis and pickleball courts, basketball courts, an extended walking path, a picnic shelter, restrooms and additional parking.
Parks Director Mister White said Phase 1 of Central Pender Park (north of Burgaw near Highway 117) is active and roughly 52% complete following rain delays; phase work includes site utilities, restroom and concession buildings, a playground and four multipurpose fields plus a multiuse path and parking. White said the contractor is working six days a week and staff hopes the project will be complete by Halloween.
White also announced that Pender County now owns Abbey Nature Preserve and an adjacent roughly 8‑acre parcel; design and engineering are complete and most required federal and state permits are in hand. The preserve concept plan includes a nature‑themed playground, picnic shelter, restroom, connector path to the conservation easement and parking. The new address for the preserve is 90 Hart Pine Avenue, he said.
White reviewed the county's 2022 parks and recreation comprehensive master plan, public engagement efforts that produced the plan and a map of recommended future park sites. He said elected leaders and the parks advisory board are working through options for future community and neighborhood parks (Long Creek Community Park, Maple Hill Neighborhood Park and Columbia Township Community Park), FEMA buyout properties that could be repurposed as parks, and potential joint‑use agreements with the school system for co‑located facilities.
Action: none required; update only. The Hampstead Kiwanis Park Phase 4 grand opening is scheduled for Thursday at 4:30 p.m.; staff will continue to update the board as Central Pender construction proceeds and bids are prepared for the Abbey Nature Preserve construction.
