Columbia Council votes to move forward with Orr Street park development, roundabout at Chapel Hill and Fairview
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
The Columbia City Council unanimously voted to move forward with the development and naming of the Orr Street Park property after holding a public hearing on Monday.
The council authorized the construction of the park and approved “North Village Park” as the official park name.
The overall response from residents who spoke at the hearing was positive. Parking was one of the biggest concerns brought up. The park will only have 45 spots built in , so the city says that people who want to host a large event would have to be directed to some of the downtown garages.
The park will be built in an empty lot at Orr Street and Park Avenue at a site formerly owned by Ameren. The site was deemed a contaminated Superfund site and was cleaned up starting in 2014.
According to Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington, discussions to build a park in that location began in the early 2000s. The goal is to provide a green space in the downtown area, amenities for local residents and support the local businesses and artists in the north village district.
"Not often that you find a two-acre site in a downtown area of any city," Huffington said. "Another part we want to do is make sure people stick around this area. So, you come down and you play at the playground with your kids and then you may go visit one of those local business."
The park will include sidewalk improvements, utility and storm-water infrastructure upgrades, turf and landscaping installation, tree plantings, park lighting, public art, a flexible performance area, active family space with a themed playground and various seating and shade structures and parking improvements. If the project is given the green light construction is expected to be completed by September 2026.
"Our Family Fun Fest used to occur in the downtown area at Flat Branch Park park got too big for that space and so by creating this park and doing these improvements we're going to be able to bring Family Funfest back downtown," Huffington said.
The project will be funded by the 2021 Park Sales Tax and Missouri ARPA Community Revitalization Grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development. According to the council memo, the project will cost $1,550,000.
However, Huffington said some additional money will be required for the six pieces of outdoor public art.
"Once we get the project going and start to do the improvements we'll fundraise for those additional pieces of art. We have a small committee that's going to start to work on different styles of art that we want to see and some artist we'd like to work with," Huffington said.
Roundabout at Chapel Hill and Fairvew
A council also held a public hearing about the proposed construction of a single-lane roundabout at the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Fairview Road, which was unanimously approved despite the majority of people in attendance being against the proposal.
The project will include splitter islands and a sidewalk along the northeast side of Chapel Hill Road between Fairview Road and Handley Place.
Construction will start during the summer of 2026 and cost more than $1.2 million, according to previous reporting. A quarter of the money would come from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax. An interested parties meeting was held on Dec. 14, where most residents who attended appeared to not be in favor of a roundabout being built.
