HISTORY

For years, citizens of Harrisonburg have found a City-owned lawn area behind City Hall, the “grassy knoll”, convenient for open air concerts, festivals, fundraising events, informal sports and games, parade staging, dog-walking, picnicking, flea markets, etc.

In 2006, the incorporated Harrisonburg Farmer’s Market Association relocated from the Water Street lower parking deck to the Municipal parking lot adjacent to the “grassy knoll”.

This area behind the Municipal Building quickly gained a multi-purpose pavilion facility thanks to the 2009 completion of the Turner Pavilion financed by private and public funds.

The concept of converting the so-called grassy knoll and surrounding municipally owned property to a downtown urban park grew out of a persuasive 2008 Eugene Stoltzfus Architects downtown study resulting in formal designation by City Council of the grassy knoll proper as a park in 2009 and authorization for Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR) to raise funds to improve the area.

Private funds became available in 2010 for a conceptual design study by Blue Ridge Architects and ABL Landscape Architecture. This study showed an amphitheater, parking deck, and day lighting Blacks Run, further advancing the park concept.

In 2011, the first Rocktown Beer & Music Festival was held using the park and pavilion. Based on the success of the event, many in the community voiced increased support for the urban park proposal. This led to the formation of the Plan Our Park Committee and an Advisory Committee composed of volunteers representing key sectors of the local community including Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, downtown property and business owners, James Madison University, donors, and the general public.

Following a series of exploratory public meetings, extensive research, and field visits to exemplary downtown parks in analogous cities, the Plan Our Park Committee solicited proposals from firms specializing in downtown parks for planning, design, engineering, park operation, and financial analysis services.

The Committee selected the Workshop Design Team (WDT), a consortium of nationally prominent Ken Smith Landscape Architect and HR&A Advisers, Inc., both New York based; and ABL Landscape Architecture, The Stratford Companies, Frazier Associates, and Engineering Concepts, all locally based.

Following an exhaustive data gathering and physical site analysis phase, the Workshop Design Team hosted an intensive series of both focus group and public workshop meetings over the course of a week in late summer, 2013. The following report, authored by the Workshop Design Team, summarizes discoveries from both data gathering and community outreach meetings followed by recommendations for downtown park design, financial feasibility, construction funding, administration, and management.

In October 2013, Harrisonburg City Council approved an updated Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan with a downtown park identified as an "immediate priority."

In 2014, the City of Harrisonburg acquired properties at 270 and 276 S. Liberty Street through the assumption of an option agreement assigned by Greener Harrisonburg who intended the land to be used for future park space when they negotiated the option.

In 2015, City Council accepted the Plan Our Park Conceptual Master Plan and appointed two City Council members to serve on a park task force.

In 2017, City staff provided guidance to members of Build Our Park’s Board regarding the potential footprint of a downtown park, and urged the organization to develop a conceptual plan for the facility in partnership with key city staff members.

In 2018 Harrisonburg City Council agreed to further explore an unsolicited proposal to build a downtown park from Build Our Park. Subsequently then-City Manager Eric Campbell asked the question about where the park fits into the larger plan for Downtown Harrisonburg and if the proposed location and the proposed park were the best options for our community. To answer these important questions, Mr. Campbell brought in expert analysts through the Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) program. During a two-day visit to Harrisonburg, the team assessed the park proposal and other ideas related to downtown’s development. At the conclusion of the visit, the team agreed that a park behind City Hall was not only feasible but proposed considering a larger footprint with additional amenities. At that time, Harrisonburg City Manager said the City looked forward to applying recommendations from the ULI visit and data from an ongoing parking study to inform how the park fits into the downtown and including the park concept in the downtown master planning process that would follow.

In 2020, the City of Harrisonburg and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR) commissioned the development of a community-driven plan for Downtown Harrisonburg. Throughout this process there were pauses necessitated by the pandemic. In its adoption by City Council, the Harrisonburg Downtown 2040 Master Plan recommends that the City “build a destination downtown park to serve all ages and provide a range of programming.” The Master Plan further states that a signature park would be of great benefit to the community and serve as a central hub for bringing people together and is the kind of space the community should have.

During this time Build Our Park has intentionally grown its leadership, refined its business plan, and organized the structure for a major capital campaign. In 2022, with guidance from City Manager Banks and Parks and Recreation Director Brian Mancini, Build Our Park prepared a formal request to City Council to authorize city staff to collaboratively plan for the downtown park. In January 2023, the request was presented to City Council who unanimously approved its authorization.

Now, Build Our Park and the City of Harrisonburg will move through a collaborative planning process that will result in a detailed site plan and comprehensive solutions to funding, development, and long-term needs. This plan will be presented to Council for their ultimate consideration.