Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
19 <br /> 1 River Park is a nine-acre park in downtown Hillsborough between the Orange County <br /> 2 Courthouse/Justice Facility/District Attorney's Office on East Margaret Lane and the Eno River. <br /> 3 The park includes the David Price Farmers Market Pavilion, the Stillhouse Creek Stream <br /> 4 Restoration Project, a portion of the Hillsborough Riverwalk, and an area of open space <br /> 5 between the buildings and the river. Trails and a pedestrian bridge for the park were built <br /> 6 consistent with a master plan for the park that was completed in conjunction with the Justice <br /> 7 Facilities Expansion Project in 2010. The Farmers Market Pavilion was completed in 2008. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 Since that time, the pavilion and the park have been used for regular farmers markets, movies <br /> 10 in the park, community egg hunts, concerts and other events. The site continues to be a <br /> 11 desirable destination for events and is regularly scheduled for a range of activities. <br /> 12 <br /> 13 In June 2015, the Board approved funding in the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) and capital <br /> 14 budget to build the remaining facilities in the 2009 master plan. This work includes several <br /> 15 components (some of which are completed or underway): <br /> 16 • A performance stage/shell for the concerts and events that the park hosts; <br /> 17 • Realignment of the Riverwalk (part of the NC Mountains to Sea Trail) across a sturdier <br /> 18 pedestrian bridge (completed); <br /> 19 • Refurbishing and renovation of the Occoneechee Village (underway); <br /> 20 • Electrical improvements near the Farmers Market Pavilion (completed), and the addition <br /> 21 of more park benches; and <br /> 22 • A new pedestrian entrance into the park from Churton Street, concurrent with the <br /> 23 Town's pedestrian and transit improvements, including two new trail connecting <br /> 24 segments and a stormwater control measure. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 Staff and an engineering consultant (Mike Hammersley of CRA Associates, Inc.) have been <br /> 27 working for the last several months to complete the needed design work for the remaining <br /> 28 improvements above, for eventual Town permit approvals. <br /> 29 <br /> 30 In the last few months, staff has explored potential sponsorship or naming opportunities for a <br /> 31 larger performance stage/shell (please see attached pictures) which could accommodate <br /> 32 concerts and performances that the site has been shown to attract. The Orange County Arts <br /> 33 Commission has expressed interest in this expanded performance stage/shell and sees this as <br /> 34 a possible fundraising opportunity that may be attractive to County and Town community and <br /> 35 business interests. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 David Stancil made the following PowerPoint presentation <br /> 38 <br /> 39 River Park <br /> 40 <br /> 41 Improvements Update <br /> 42 • Realignment of Riverwalk segment <br /> 43 • Occoneechee Village refurbishing <br /> 44 . New Churton Street entrance / path <br /> 45 • Performance Stage/Shell <br /> 46 <br /> 47 Map of Park <br /> 48 <br /> 49 Katie Murray continued the presentation: <br />