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The Town of Cary turned the first symbolic shovels of earth at its new centerpiece Downtown Park on Saturday, June 26.
The park has been in the discussion and planning stages for about 20 years. The groundbreaking was a huge step toward bringing the vision to life.
This year also marks the Town’s 150th anniversary. Cary Downtown Park is a sign of the Town’s commitment to remaining economically and culturally vibrant for another century.
The event kicked off at 11 AM with speeches by Town of Cary staff and a representative from park designer OJB Landscape Architecture.
The groundbreaking was performed using shovels painted by local artists, all members of the Fine Arts League of Cary. (For close-ups of the individual designs with artist credits, visit the the Town’s project page.)
A 150th Anniversary history tour followed the groundbreaking ceremony, along with a Discover Downtown Park presentation hosted by the park’s designers.
Additional events will be held throughout the week to help people visualize everything yet to come at the site.
Attendees also had an opportunity to view a scale model of the new park. The miniature park site features familiar landmarks like the iconic downtown fountain, the Mayton Inn and Cottonhouse Brewery on Academy Street, and recently completed Cary Regional Library. It also showcases the sweeping elevated walkways, shady botanical gardens, and shell-like main building that will make up the new park.
As the engineer assisting OJB Landscape Architecture with permitting, particularly stormwater permitting, WithersRavenel is thrilled to be part of this unique and collaborative project. Members of our Land Development, Planning, and Parks & Recreation staff joined the festivities and celebrated the project moving into the next phase of development.
