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A former arsenic-contaminated rail yard in Florida is being turned into a giant park - take a look
A former arsenic-contaminated rail yard in Florida is being turned into a giant park - take a look
Peter KoteckiOct 19, 2018, 01:32 IST
Sasaki
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East of Tampa, Florida, a 180-acre site in Lakeland served as a rail yard from the late 1800s until the early 1950s. After the rail yard closed in 1952, the contaminated site underwent various attempts at redevelopment, but nothing lasted.
The rail yard, which used to be Lakeland's largest employer before the Great Depression, faded from prominence for years. In 2015, though, a group of local residents came together and proposed turning the site into a giant park. The international design firm Sasaki took on the project shortly after, and it is expected to open in 2020.
The proposal will create a public park near downtown Lakeland for the whole community to gather.
More than 80 acres contain traces of arsenic and petroleum hydrocarbons, according to Sasaki. As part of the project, the team will take land from the most contaminated sections and create hills on the property.
The developers will move storm water into a number of wetland ponds. They will also install new waste management systems to decontaminate the water.
Sasaki will work on protecting mature oak trees and waterways in some parts of the new park, and the site will provide opportunities for visitors to learn about central Florida's ecology.
To help generate revenue for the park, the Explorations V Children's Museum will charge a fee for admission. Concerts and other events will also be held in the park.
The children's museum is currently located in downtown Lakeland but will relocate to the park as part of the redevelopment.
According to Sasaki, new walking and bike paths will help increase access to the park.
"Bonnet Springs Park, from a planning and design perspective, presents a rare opportunity to transform a significantly challenged urban plot of land in an effort to improve Central Florida’s quality of life for generations to come," a recent blog post on Sasaki's website said.
