South Street park is reborn

The city threw an opening party for the neighborhood's newest park, complete with a jazz trio playing on one of the tennis courts.

The Sept. 20 official opening capped years of effort to turn a somewhat run-down set of basketball courts at Centre Street and Carolina Avenue into a pretty special little park.

While tennis and hoops enthusiasts can appreciate the new courts, the project also has a healthy helping of public art. Artist Beth Galston came up with the vision of a "serpentine fence" while fabricator Bartek Konieczny figured out how to make the fence a reality. Ray Dunetz provided the landscape architecture to tie the site together.

JP Centre/South Main Streets was instrumental in getting funding for arts portion of the project, formally known as "South Street Mall and Courts," from the Browne Fund. Total cost for the project was $474,113, according to the city.