Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Officials with the City of Andalusia and others involved in the planning for a new park in the downtown area joined Tuesday afternoon for a groundbreaking to officially kick off construction for the project.

The new park, commonly referred to as Heritage Park during the developmental stages of the project, will be located at the intersection of S. Cotton Street and Tisdale Street near the old depot.

“We’ve waited a long time for this to happen, but today, after a couple of years of planning, we are breaking ground on our new Heritage Park,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

The city is working with Concordia, an architectural, planning, and community engagement firm based in New Orleans, as well as CDG Engineering. Concordia used surveys and town hall meetings in Andalusia to secure input from more than 400 area residents before designing the park.

“Since then, we have put the financing in place, worked with ADEM, the Corp of Engineers, and the Alabama Historical Commission on the proper permitting, and with CDG, Inc., for the final designs,” Johnson said.

The park will include a 1.4 acre pond, a quarter-mile, 8-foot wide concrete walking path, an exterior, 12-foot-wide, multi-purpose asphalt trail, an amphitheater that will seat about 300 people, and green spaces. The city also plans to add a carousel, gazebo, and pavilion in later phases of this development.

“In the coming days, you’ll see city crews moving dirt and putting the pipe in place to build the water feature. We are very excited about this project, and believe it will help us as we continue to redevelop our historic downtown,” the mayor added.