The Dream Stays Alive
for the Park at Madison Station Blvd.
In the fine print, Mayor Cooper's Spending Plan released today includes $525,000 to complete the construction-ready documents to place for bid to implement the community-inspired vision for the Park at Madison Station Blvd ( the future "Kitty Wells & Johnny Wright Park").
The schematic designs created by HDLA Landscape Architecture and robust community engagement facilitated by Civic Design Center were funded by a total of $50,000 of private money secured from The Memorial Foundation and The Parks Foundation. Their gifts are enormous, and we will forever be grateful for making this new step possible.
The property is located behind the Madison Branch Library, adjacent to Madison Station Blvd., and across the street from Amqui Station, the new music hall ( opening late 2023), and FiftyForward. It is also adjacent to the new Madison Station project, recently approved for its renaissance.
"Although I am disappointed that this project did not receive the requested total funding, estimated to be $6 million +, in this Spending Plan, the next step toward the dream for this important civic space was. I appreciate the hundreds of community members that participated in the planning and wrote Mayor Cooper to encourage him to keep this dream alive. For several years, and for three Mayors, this project was listed as a significant priority of the Metro Council in our scoring platforms. I am happy to shepherd it forward as far as I can. The next Spending Plan will be in the next political cycle, and the Madison community will ask anyone running for Mayor in 2023 to continue prioritizing this project until it is completed." - Nancy VanReece, Councilmember District 8
