The Coopers Park Reimagine project is well underway with the completion of a rain garden and splash pads to be built.
“The University of Georgia kind of adopted us and came up with the Oconee Heights Streetscape project. One of the students who came up with that needed a Capstone project and created a reimagined concept for Coopers Park,” said County Manager Carlos Tobar.
The park is located at 105 Black Creek Rd. and is 3.5 acres. The first step of the concept plan was creating a rain garden to contain stormwater runoff and soil erosion from reaching the park’s walking path. The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners, Coopers Collaborative and Georgia College & State University worked together to build the garden on Saturday, April 5th.
“The next phase will be the construction of the splash pad, which will be nearly identical to the one in Harrisburg Park. Bids were opened Wednesday, April 9. It will be built between the pavilion and the restrooms in the park,” said Tobar.
The splash pad is anticipated to be complete by August.
Other improvements will include resurfacing the basketball court, resurfacing the running trail, beautifying the area where the steps are toward the field, and placing shade over the playground equipment.
“We have already made a lot of safety improvements to access the park and now we are working on the park,” said Tobar.
The overall project should be complete by 2030 and is being funded through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. It was already a part of the SPLOST budget.