LOWELL -- The city is continuing to develop donated land into a park geared to public service.
The Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park is about 100 acres off of Bellview Street west of Interstate 49. So far, the park is home to a veterans memorial donated by Glenn and April Jones, Lowell's second fire station and a walking trail.
The money
Lowell received two grants, one for $302,000 and one for $485,000, from the Arkansas Department of Transportation and a $90,000 grant from Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. The Walton Family Foundation contributed $650,126, and the Leonard Johnson Revocable Trust contributed $600,000. The money from the foundation and from the trust more than covered what the city was required to match to receive grants.
Source: Staff report
Designs for a farmers market are complete with tentative plans to open this fall, said Karen Davis, city community development coordinator. The city will own and operate the farmers market.
"Right now, we are completing the design of the trail head and the connecting trail to Mills Lane from the Kathleen Johnson Park," Davis said. "There will be 700 feet of Zion Church Road built to connect from the trail head to Bellview just north of the fire station."
The park will be connected to the Razorback Greenway, a biking and walking trail extending about 37 miles from Fayetteville to Bella Vista. The city plans to complete the trail head and connecting trail by next summer, she said.
The plan is for four nonprofit organizations -- the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, the Office of Human Concern, NWA Space and Project Red Friday -- to be at the park.
Kathleen Johnson died in 2010, and her husband, Leonard, died in 2015. The couple donated the land to the city, and Leonard Johnson asked for it to be turned into a park and named after his wife.
"When the land was donated to the city, the goal was that the 100 acres would be offered back to the public as nonprofits," Davis said.
The nonprofit groups will lease the land from the city for $1 a year, she said.
The city would like to see the nonprofit groups open at the park in two years, Davis said. None of them has begun construction.
The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is looking to move from June Self Drive in Bethel Heights to the park, said Kent Eikenberry, president and chief executive officer.
"The relocation of Arkansas Highway 265 through our parking lot took away any expansion possibilities at this site, so we are preparing for the future," Eikenberry said. "We are at the very start of the process. We haven't started fundraising, haven't designed a building. We have no anticipated beginning or completion date. We are very appreciative and look forward to working with the city of Lowell."
NWA Space plans to build a science center to teach people about space and to increase interest from teens and young adults in science careers, said Katherine Auld, board chairwoman for the organization.
NWA Space is actively fundraising, Auld said. The organization has designs for an observatory and plans for a planetarium and science labs to be used by students on field trips. The staff is looking into the possibility of having an IMAX theater.
Each of the nonprofit groups will be required to install one park bench and one water fountain for every 5 acres it occupies. They will also be responsible for constructing the part of Zion Road in front of the buildings, Davis said.
Mike Whitehead of Project Red Friday, an organization supporting veterans, said the group's space will allow it to host students so they can hear from veterans and learn what military life is like. The organization has a school program where students make care packages and write letters to soldiers. Veterans plan to have an aquaponics program and raise fish and vegetables, some of which would be donated to homeless shelters and the rest sold to pay for the nonprofit group's day-to-day expenses, Whitehead said.
Whitehead said Project Red Friday is finalizing where its building will be in the park so it can begin construction.
The Office of Human Concern operates out of an office on East Spruce Street in Rogers and serves Benton, Carroll and Madison counties. The group donates food to homebound people 60 and older through the Meals on Wheels program and at its seven senior centers in Northwest Arkansas, said Susan Moore, chief executive officer.
She said the office would like to start construction on a building within the next year.
"I'm not going to tell you that we will sell this building. We may repurpose it, but main operations will move to that site," Moore said.
The organization doesno't have enough space to store all of the food it receives in donations, she said. The building also serves as office space for staff and is where people come for case management services. Case managers work with people who need help getting on their feet, whether that be finding a job or place to live, for example.
The new space will include a training kitchen where staff can teach people how to cook, including learning how to make healthy meals from donated food, Moore said.
Davis said the city would eventually like to install splash pads but hasn't allotted any money toward them. Lowell is focusing on completing the trail and road and establishing the nonprofit groups.
"Basically, it's a park of giving back," she said.
NW News on 06/03/2019