Plans For New Cherokee Park Includes Fields, Courts, Veterans Memorial

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Dozens of people filled the Macedonia Elementary School cafeteria to look at a preliminary master plan for a new park slated to come to eastern Cherokee County.

Officials with the county and architecture firm Lose & Associates revealed the plan for Cherokee Veterans Park, which will be constructed on about 149 acres along S.R. 20/Cumming Highway between Jack Page Lane and Water Tank Road.

The preliminary plan (which can be viewed below, or here) takes the input provided from residents during a public hearing held last month and combines those recommendations into one master plan.

The park, which would be built in phases, will be funded from proceeds of the county’s $90 million parks bond, which was approved by voters in 2008.

Bryan Reynolds, Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency director, said Cherokee Veterans Park would be a “community park” similar to Hobgood Park in Towne Lake, J.J. Biello Park in Woodstock and Fowler Park in Forsyth County.

Cherokee Veterans Park would contain both passive and active elements, Reynolds said. However, he cautioned residents that it’s “very likely (this) will not be the final look of the park.”

A key element of the park, added Aaron St. Pierre of Lose & Associates, is the Georgia Department of Transportation’s stipulation that the county to locate the entrance at the Water Tank Road intersection with S.R. 20.

The master plan features seven components of the park: an open area, a ballfield complex, multi-purpose fields, tennis/pickleball facility, youth complex, veterans memorial and a maintenance facility.

“There’s a lot of detail going into this park,” St. Pierre added of the plan.

Key components of Cherokee Veterans Park include:

OPEN AREA

• large pavilion with restrooms and catering kitchen
• open lawn area
• walking trail loop
• bocce ball court
• horseshoe court
• paved walking loop
• large community playground

BALLFIELD COMPLEX

• two 350-foot fields
• three 250-foot fields
• concessions/restroom building
• five batting cages
• sports lighting
• two picnic shelters
• playground
• tailgate lawns

MULTIPURPOSE FIELDS

• three 240’ x 360’ fields (artificial turf), including championship field with a perimeter walking loop
• two 210’ x 360’ fields
• one large and one small concessions/restroom building
• elevated bleachers
• sports lighting

TENNIS/PICKLEBALL FACILITY

• six adult courts
• six youth courts with pickleball striping
• restroom/vending building
• two bocce ball courts
• shade pavilions
• three horseshoe courts
• sports lighting

YOUTH COMPLEX

• 17,000-square-foot skate park
• ‘Xtreme’ playground
  
• one full basketball court
• two half basketball courts
• two sand volleyball courts
• restroom/vending building
• sports lighting

VETERANS MEMORIAL

• flag court
• memorial wall
• handicapped accessible from parking area
• high visibility from park entrance

St. Pierre said costs for the park have not been determined. Once the county provides a budget, the design and architectural team will tailor the park based upon that figure.

Reynolds said if the county can stick to its timeline, construction could start in summer 2015. The construction could take about 15 months, depending on weather, he added.

Tell us: what do you think of the park plans?