Lowell develops park for public service use

NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Nathan Brown of Fayetteville plays a round of disc golf Thursday May 23, 2019 at Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park in Lowell. Brown works in Lowell and plays disc golf on his lunch break. The city is turning donated land into a park that will include several nonprofits, a veterans memorial, a fire station and a walking trail that will connect to the Razorback Greenway.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Nathan Brown of Fayetteville plays a round of disc golf Thursday May 23, 2019 at Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park in Lowell. Brown works in Lowell and plays disc golf on his lunch break. The city is turning donated land into a park that will include several nonprofits, a veterans memorial, a fire station and a walking trail that will connect to the Razorback Greenway.

LOWELL -- The city is continuing to develop donated land into a park geared to public service.

The Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park is about 100 acres off Bellview Street west of Interstate 49. So far, the park is home to a veterans memorial donated by Glenn and April Jones, Lowell's second fire station and a walking trail.

Designs for a farmers market are complete with tentative plans to open this fall, said Karen Davis, city community development coordinator. The city will own and operate the farmers market.

"Right now, we are completing the design of the trailhead and the connecting trail to Mills Lane from the Kathleen Johnson Park," Davis said. "There will be 700 feet of Zion Church Road built to connect from the trailhead to Bellview just north of the fire station."

The park will be connected to the Razorback Greenway, a biking and walking trail extending about 37 miles from Fayetteville to Bella Vista. The city plans to complete the trailhead and connecting trail by next summer, she said.

The plan is for four nonprofit organizations -- the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, the Office of Human Concern, NWA Space and Project Red Friday -- to be at the park.

Kathleen Johnson died in 2010, and her husband, Leonard, died in 2015. The couple donated the land to the city, and Leonard Johnson asked for it to be turned into a park and named after his wife.

"When the land was donated to the city, the goal was that the 100 acres would be offered back to the public as nonprofits," Davis said.

The nonprofit groups will lease the land from the city for $1 a year, she said.

The city would like to see the nonprofit groups open at the park in two years, Davis said. None of them has begun construction.

The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is looking to move from June Self Drive in Bethel Heights to the park, said Kent Eikenberry, president and chief executive officer.

"The relocation of Arkansas Highway 265 through our parking lot took away any expansion possibilities at this site, so we are preparing for the future," Eikenberry said. "We are at the very start of the process. We haven't started fundraising, haven't designed a building. We have no anticipated beginning or completion date. We are very appreciative and look forward to working with the city of Lowell."

NWA Space plans to build a science center to teach people about space and to increase interest from teens and young adults in science careers, said Katherine Auld, board chairwoman for the organization.

NWA Space is actively fundraising, Auld said. The organization has designs for an observatory and plans for a planetarium and science labs to be used by students on field trips. The staff is looking into the possibility of having an IMAX theater.

Metro on 06/04/2019

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