Springdale breaks ground at Luther George Park with a community celebration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 7, 2022
Contact: Hayden Benge
918-899-8098
Springdale breaks ground at Luther George Park with a community celebration
The redesigned park will be the largest downtown open green space in the Northwest Arkansas region.
SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Downtown Springdale Alliance, alongside the City of Springdale and the community, today broke ground on the redesign of Luther George Park. The event featured community and project leaders, and a celebration with local food, entertainment and live music.
“We’re so grateful to the Northwest Arkansas community for their generosity — the expansion and renovation of this park would not be possible without everyone’s support,” said Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse. “Today’s celebration was the first of many to come at the transformed Luther George Park. We’re excited to see the diversity and beauty of Springdale reflected through the redesign, and we can’t wait to see how this park becomes an active public space that brings the community together.”
The redesign will feature a new Central Plaza connecting the park to Spring Creek and Razorback Greenway. There will also be a Performance Pavilion to host events for up to 3,000 people on the Great Lawn. Other features include enhanced play spaces for children of all ages, a walking path, novel outdoor spaces, and shady and creek-side seating.
“At the center of the transformation of Luther George Park is intentional design that establishes spaces to gather and supports local community programming from partners in the Northwest Arkansas region,” said Jill Dabbs, Executive Director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance. “Today’s programming provided by the Don Tyson School of Innovation Jazz Band, Latin Art Organization of Arkansas, Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese and Lisa Academy is a prime example of how the park will bring the community together to celebrate the diverse culture and talent in our vibrant downtown area.”
Luther George Park, named for the George family in Springdale, has been open for many decades. It’s located in the heart of downtown Springdale and attracts more people than many other downtown public spaces.
“On behalf of the George family, we are very excited to see the transformation and expansion of the park into something that mirrors the heart and soul of the Springdale community,” said Rick George, son of Luther George. “We could not be more honored to be the namesake of this park and can’t wait to see the entire community gathering and engaging with one another in this new space. I know dad would be so proud of this new endeavor for a community that he loved so much.”
Construction on the park’s redesign has officially begun and is expected to continue through the summer of 2024. Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels, two award-winning firms, collaborated on the design of what will be the largest downtown park project in the region.
“The redesign of Luther George Park incorporates everything that is central to the Springdale community — from social and gathering spaces that foster connection to unique performance areas that showcase the vibrant arts,” said Wes Michaels, founding principal of Spackman Mossop Michaels. “It has been a privilege working with the Springdale community throughout this design process, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact in the community.”
The Walton Family Foundation awarded the Downtown Springdale Alliance with a Design Excellence grant in 2017 to fund the redesign of Luther George Park and establish the foundation for the park’s vision. Since the grant was awarded, the community has donated funds to support the construction of the redesign. Major donors include the Schmieding Foundation, the City of Springdale, Tyson Family Foundation, the George family, Pat & Willard Walker Charitable Foundation and other members of the community.
“The re-envisioned Luther George Park will be great for the community,” said Lance Taylor, President of the Schmieding Foundation. “We’re fortunate to have this type of park being developed in Springdale, and we are excited that the Spring Creek Natural Play Area will provide children an enjoyable place for recreational activity.”
For more information about the new design and to keep up with the park’s construction process, visit downtownspringdale.org.
About Downtown Springdale Alliance
Downtown Springdale Alliance is a nonprofit that was formed in 2011 with a mission to create vibrancy in our dynamic downtown. For more information, visit www.downtownspringdale.org.
About City of Springdale
The mission of the City of Springdale is to provide quality services for the betterment of the health, safety, welfare, prosperity, comfort, and convenience of all persons in the City of Springdale, Arkansas.
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