The plaza will be located on the east side of Cypress Street, between North 1st and 2nd Street, next to a 142-space parking lot funded by the city. This site was previously home to the Abilene Reporter-News building, which was demolished due to a fire.
Some planned features for the plaza include landscaping, hardscape, irrigation, lighting, power for a future water feature, and two shade structures.
Councilman Blaise Regan stated that considering the nearby parks and the prime downtown location, a plaza might not be the best use for this property.
“We want to bring people downtown to shop, to live, to make it vibrant,” Regan explained. “If we didn’t have any other parks, I would be all for this, but we already have one to the left and the right. And so I don’t think this is the best use of property. I may be the only one who believes that, but my position is, let’s keep this open and available for commercial development.”
Mayor Weldon Hurt disagreed, saying, “I believe that this is the best use personally. It combines those parks; it connects them. Makes a beautiful space in our downtown Abilene.”
Councilman Blaise Regan raised concerns about camping in the park impacting visitors and the nearby Cypress Street Development project.
“We have the same conundrum in Minter Park and Everman Park on either side of this, and we deal with that when it comes up. There’s a statewide camping ban that APD enforces,” City Manager Robert Hanna explained. “If someone’s sitting in the park and enjoying the park, there’s no offense. But if they’re sleeping on the ground or a bench, we have ways of addressing that. We work with our nonprofits, and sometimes we move them along under the state camping ban statute if necessary.”
The city will have to front close to $50,000 for the project, but it will be paid back with private funding. The land will be owned by the Abilene Improvement Corporation.
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