Channel District residents will soon have a new park in their downtown Tampa neighborhood, thanks to plans by the City of Tampa to develop new recreation spaces.
Madison Street Park, which is expected to undergo construction in 2016, will feature a dog park, event space, water features, a putting green and recreation courts for volleyball and pickleball. There will also be plenty of space to relax and enjoy the outdoors.
“Madison Street Park is a neighborhood park,” says Laurie Potier-Brown, of the
city's parks and recreation department. “As a neighborhood park, its purpose is to provide recreational opportunities for the neighbors that are within a walkable distance.”
The park will be located next to the proposed Martin at Meridian site, between
Grand Central at Kennedy and
Bell Channelside. The developer of
Martin at Meridian, Ken Stoltenberg of
Mercury Advisors, donated a portion of the land he purchased for the property to the park.
“The Park provides the respite of a natural green space in an urban area,” Potier-Brown says. “The benefits of Madison Street Park will be improved health and well-being for the neighborhood.”
The city recently held three meetings to get community feedback on park designs, and specifics of what they want in their neighborhood park.
“We always prefer to begin design of a park with a blank slate, however, we want to gather the residents from the surrounding neighborhoods to listen to their ideas and desires,” she says. “After all, we want the park to meet the needs of the community.''
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