SPRINGDALE -- The Walton Family Foundation will award the city of Springdale $3.1 million to help rebuild Luther George Park.
The City Council, working in a committee of the whole Monday, moved the item forward for a vote during its next regular meeting, which is Aug. 23.
The grant will give the city $1 for every $3 raised in a private capital campaign.
Luther George Park sits one block south of East Emma Avenue and is considered a key component to the downtown area's revitalization.
Jill Dabbs, director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, said the capital campaign for the park has raised $11 million, or 88% of the estimated $12.5 million needed for construction.
The grant money is included in the total raised, Mayor Doug Sprouse said.
The group needs to raise just $846,000 more to break ground -- which Dabbs said she expects soon with just one or two more monetary gifts.
She said she expected the project to break ground in October.
The City Council in February committed $2 million for the 154-foot sculptural shell for the amphitheater, which will be the central focus of the park.
The city received the money for the park project from its Public Facilities Board.
The shell's 23 pieces will be made by a company called CGZ in the Netherlands, said Sam Hollis, president and owner of Milestone Construction in Springdale. Milestone holds the construction contract for the park redesign.
Sprouse told council members they soon would be asked to approve another $250,000 to replace an old sewer main pipeline that runs through the park. Sprouse said he thinks that money can come out of American Rescue Plan money.
Springdale Water Utilities also will pay $250,000 toward the replacement, expected to cost $500,000, Sprouse said.
The council last month contracted for $248,650 with Spackman Mossop Michaels as the construction manager for the park project. The New Orleans firm also served as the architect for the project.
The Walton Family Foundation will give the grant money to the city in three installments in return for progress reports, according to the grant agreement Sprouse will sign with council approval. The city will receive $2.3 million on Sept. 22, $375,000 on June 22 and $375,000 on Jan. 22, 2024.
The progress reports are a way for the foundation to measure value of its investment, Dabbs explained. The requested reports are common with most grant awards.
The reports will show the impact the park will have on the community, Dabbs said.
"Measuring economic impact is easy," said Patsy Christie, director of the city's Planning Department. "It's other impact that's hard to measure."
The impact will be determined when compared to the city's objectives and plan for the park. The plan was guided by residents' comments in multiple community input sessions.
"It's what's important to the people of Springdale," Dabbs said.