By Kristen Johnson
Since 1994, Durham Central Park has been a beloved community gathering space, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
The park hosts concerts, food trucks and quirky events like Pi Day. It’s home to the farmers’ market, Mount Merrill children’s play area, and Durham Skate Park. For the past three years, it’s been part of the Bullpen, a social district where people may drink outdoors.
Now, to better serve a growing population, Durham Parks and Recreation is partnering with John R. McAdams to reimagine the 5-acre park. The firm is behind other city projects, such as the Durham Rail Trail and the new Public Works Department building.
On Thursday, the Durham City Council got a first look at a planned water feature, shaded seating and other possible enhancements for the park at 501 Foster St.
A spokesperson for McAdams said they want to make sure Durham Central Park continues to be a well-used space for future generations and new people coming to the city.
Proposed changes to Durham Central Park
McAdams, Durham Parks and Recreation and Durham Central Park Inc. sought input on the enhancements, which are designed to meet seven goals:
- Connect the space west of the pavilion to the park (the strip of land is separated by Roney Street, a road for emergency vehicles)
- Enhance the everyday use of the park
- Honor the functions of the Farmers’ Market with more picnic tables and tents for vendors
- Improve connectivity across Foster Street
- Reimagine Mount Merrill
- Level the lawn to improve its use and flexibility
- Create an accessible overlook entrance from the east side of the park
An adaptable “Festival Street” would run down the middle of the park between Mount Merrill and the pavilion on Foster Street. Other changes include an overhead canopy and a small stage for concerts or activities that people could enjoy from added seat walls.
McAdams also wants to enhance the gardens on the western side of the park with better landscaping and an entrance to the area along Corporation Street.
Durham is ‘deserving’
Council member Chelsea Cook has a personal attachment to the park and is excited about the new plans.
“I had my first date, and my fiancé and I got engaged at Central Park,” Cook said at the meeting. She asked for more shading and a projector or screening where the new stage would be.
Council member Nate Baker said the city is “deserving of a great space like this.”
“We look around to our neighbors in Cary and Raleigh and Dix Park and all of the work that’s going into building great parks,” Baker said. “Of course, we are also doing that in other places in our city, but this is such a central place.”
Council members also want to ensure the plans address the needs of the Skate Park, which needs some repairs.
“The farmers’ market and the skate park kind of go together,” member DeDreana Freeman said. “I would be really disappointed if we lost the skate park there. It’s been a really good space for the kids to know that they are welcome downtown.”
The price for the improvements is not yet known.
The council will talk more about the park in May when residents will have a chance to comment on the plans.
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Kristen Johnson is a local government reporter covering Cary and Wake County for The News & Observer. She previously covered southeastern North Carolina for The Fayetteville Observer and spent time covering politics in Washington, D.C. She is an alumna of UNC at Charlotte and American University.
