Woodbury’s $42.3 million Central Park project still bore signs of home-stretch construction during a “sneak peek” tour Tuesday afternoon, but there were more than enough finished features to dazzle.
The one-hour tour, led by Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Okada, was limited to local news media in anticipation of a phased-in soft-opening process that began Wednesday.
Officials had hoped for an Oct. 1 public opening.
“A couple of contractors needed a few more days to complete necessary tasks to safely allow guests into the spaces we were looking to open on Oct. 1,” Okada said in an interview after the tour.
A Grand Reopening Celebration is scheduled for Nov. 2.
The much-anticipated project, formally approved in late 2023 and early 2024, was funded through a combination of sources, including grants, partner contributions, city fund balances and $7.5 million from state bonding.
Construction began in April, 2024.
Among design and construction priorities: addressing maintenance issues and failing and/or inefficient mechanical and electrical systems; enhancing a welcoming environment to increase space for visitors; increasing program opportunities for youth, teens and adults/seniors; updating the park’s Lookout Ridge Indoor Playground; increasing energy efficiency; adding single/family-user restrooms; increasing parking lot capacity; improving accessibility in line with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Okada began the tour with the lushly expansive new lower-floor greenery area, which begins to open up for visitors the second they come through the front entrance.
“This space was always full, and it was very rare that there was a table open,” she noted of the park’s 20-year predecessor. “So increasing the amount and variety of available seating was certainly a priority. We’ve been adding platforms, and there will be extra-long tables, as well as high-top tables and chairs.”
“A new wandering path reminds visitors of the original,” she added, “and we’ve added a water feature, a water wall, which we think will add just the right amount of sound to the green space. The plants were just delivered last week.”
Okada then moved to the top floor section dominated by spaces designed for seniors, including “focus rooms” Prairie Room A and Prairie Room B, storage and a technology area.
Among other tour highlights:
- The massive, state-of-the-art Lookout Ridge Indoor Playground, which extends from the lower floor to the top-floor ceiling. The playground is surrounded at the bottom by cushioned benches and murals depicting ground-level outdoor scenes that rise to become sky scenes at the top. “Our goal early in October is to allow entry into Lookout Ridge, with other spaces opening later in the month,” Okada said of the soft-opening plan.
- Thick, energy-efficient, three-story exterior windows marked with thousands of black dots out of safety concerns for birds that might not recognize the clear glass as a danger when they try to fly in. “See all those little black dots?” Okada remarked. “That’s bird-safe glass.”
- A fully updated and enclosed, ADA-accessible, 175-seat amphitheater adaptable to everything from wedding receptions and concerts to a full array of city, county, school and community events.
