Friday afternoon, from 2-4 pm, the Kilmarnock Town Offices hosted an open house for the purpose of previewing the 3 options presented for the Kilmarnock Park – as envisioned by Cite Design, Inc., a land planning and design firm located in Richmond, with offices at 310 north Adams Street, Richmond, VA.
Marshall A. Sebra, Planning/Zoning Administrator for the Town of Kilmarnock, unveiled the three options at the Town Hall. The design firm was tasked with addressing the following options: an event/festival space, restrooms, a splash pad, a playground, parking, an amphitheater, walking trails, a farmers’ market, and a dog park. Not all plans embraced all these options, and Sebra noted that options 1 and 3 had received the most positive responses. Here are views of the three options with the design firm’s comments.
Option 1
– Main entrance from South Main Street
– Splash Pad ‘focal point’ from entrance with amphitheater as a backdrop. Splash pad is functional but also a visual feature when not being used.
– Restroom building centrally located and a focal point from library I secondary entrance. Pedestrian path goes ‘thru’ the building.
– Continuing past the restroom building, an area set aside for adult games (croquet, corn hole, etc.) and a ‘plaza’ for grills and/or socializing while kids are playing in the adjacent playground.
– Farmers Market is on the site of the existing real estate building (razed). * (Note: the architect was apparently unaware that that space belonged to someone other than the Town of Kilmarnock. ) Additional land surrounding it is for expansion or larger functions.
– Pecan Tree Grove (or similar) located on South Main Street. Can also be used for overflow parking.
– Community gardens located across the street from the library. Additional land for random play (frisbee) and future uses.
Option 2
– Main entrance from South Main Street
– Architectural feature building is focal point for entrance. The building will contain the farmers market pavilion and restrooms.
_ Splash Pad near the restroom. To one side of the splash pad are the adult games and grills and to the other side is the playground.
– Community gardens along Main Street.
_ Parking is on the perimeter to make the site more pedestrian safe
Option 3
_ Two ‘towers’ with an entrance sign serve as the entrance from Main St.
_ A ‘classical’ (Jeffersonian) arcade parallels Main Street and serves as the market.
_ ‘Green Space’ is in front of the arcade as well as the back to serve as additional vendor space for larger events.
_ A Splash pad is the focal point for the terminus of the arcade.
_ Parking is interior to the circular drive to make the park pedestrian friendly.
_ The restroom building is centrally located and serves as a starting point to the trial, amphitheater, and market area.
_ the playground is located across the street from the library.
_ The ‘meadow’ Is large enough for major events, soccer, random play, and for future uses.
_ The Amphitheater is located 0 the slope with existing trees as a backdrop.
_ The dog park has been moved towards the back of the proper
Sebra said that of the three options, 1 and 3 had garnered the most positive response, with option 2 being less well regarded since it did not have any way for the grounds to be accessed through Town Centre Drive (1st Street in the images). This was considered to be of importance due to the Lancaster County Library, which will be in the building adjacent to the field. The working committee have decided that it is important that the two properties mix well together.
Some of the options, above, included a community garden; however, the committee is not convinced that this is a good use for the property. Other things discussed by the committee include the necessity for green, open space. Walking trails are under investigation at this point as the town does not have easement for the trails specified by the design firm.
The Town of Kilmarnock encourages citizens of Kilmarnock to voice their opinions about these designs and the future use of the town property. You can contact Marshall Sebra by email at [email protected] or by calling the town offices at 435-1552.
