Bondurant launches Regional Stormwater Retention Effort – Creates Regional Recreational Area
Bondurant is transforming a retention pond required for stormwater needs into a regional destination park. The City Council recently adopted the Central District Stormwater Improvements Master Plan, which features a 116-acre park with a 36-acre lake as its focal point. The lake will retain stormwater for the adjacent approximately 150 acres. The lake is designed not only to retain stormwater but to enhance water quality.
Central Park will be located on the southeastern corner of Highway 65 and Grant Street S. The body of water will give kayakers a fun experience navigating the lobed-shaped lake. Recreational flex spaces are nestled throughout the park, which also boasts a network of paths and trails, a community building with views over the water, playgrounds, a boathouse, and a beach.
The park’s greenspace is linked to existing parks and regional trail networks through a series of soft and paved trails looping the lake and serving as a connector between active zones of the park. Unique water engagement is a top priority of the plan. The beach access, paddle craft launches, boathouse, viewing areas, and iconic boardwalks provide both active and passive recreational access.
A community building will be in line with the planned future mixed-use development identified in the Regional Commercial Master Plan adopted by the City Council in 2020, to provide a central public space in the park. This park incorporates the realignment of Grant St S, a critical project for safety as regional traffic traveling between Highway 65 and Interstate 80 continues to increase. The project area maximizes the frontage to the stormwater basin for future mixed-use development. Grant St S will be the primary arterial for the new development as well as a regional non-motorized route connecting the Gay Lea Wilson to the Central District Trail. The regional Gay Lea Wilson trail will grow substantially due to the added trail system in Central Park.
Additional supporting structures throughout the park, including open-air structures and the boathouse, facilitate more flexible uses and events, promoting opportunities for picnicking and other events to happen in concert with one another. The development of a plaza space adjacent to the community building will support indoor/outdoor flexibility of the structure while providing even more opportunities for special events, races, and concerts. A destination playground planned ice rink, and a new regional skate park add to the draw of Central Park.
Three different play experiences are proposed at the park. A splash pad and a smaller nature-based playground are proposed south of the Community Building at the main gateway. A larger regional destination playground with a nature theme is proposed south and west of the boathouse adjacent to the beach at the south gateway.
Trails, especially looped trails that provide options for organized run and walk events, are an important design element. The trails extend through the park westward, creating individualized pockets of activity along Mud Creek with a scenic walk through the woods experienced unique to this park. The park incorporates over three miles of paths and trails with a range of loop options for hosting 5k walks and runs with a variety of scenery depending on the chosen course.
The elegant, flexible-use community building to host events, including public meetings, weddings, reunions, and corporate picnics, while also accommodating more than one smaller event at one time. The community building and the outdoor event space serve as a community anchor for a pop-up coffee shop, food trucks, or other commercial or entertainment experiences.
Bondurant City Council approved the Central District Stormwater Improvements Master Plan on Monday, November 7, 2022. The final design for Central Park and the realignment of Grant Street S is anticipated in FY24.
