Eagle Lake Park is scheduled to be open in April 2010.
LARGO – Pinellas County is completing the final phases of construction on Eagle Lake Park. The opening date has been pushed back to April 2010.
The new park, at Keene and Belleair Roads, consists of 163 acres, and the work is being funded by $7.2 million in Penny for Pinellas revenue and two state grants totaling $1.16 million.
Following construction, “Parks and Recreation staff is scheduled to commence upon a substantial amount of activity and installation of park amenities over the next several months,” said Meg Korakis, a county spokeswoman, in an e-mail.
“This work, coupled with department budget and personnel reductions as well as time for landscaping establishment, currently slates the park for an April 2010 opening,” she said.
The park will offer residents of central Pinellas a wide range of amenities. They include 2.5 miles of paved trails, 1.7 miles of shell foot paths, 293 parking spaces, a playground, a large dog park, six picnic shelters, five boardwalk viewing decks on ponds, 1,774 feet of boardwalks over wetlands, five vehicle bridges, restrooms, various types of urban wildlife, such as coyotes, foxes, osprey and red-tailed squirrels.
Entrances will be located on Keene, Belleair and Rosery roads. There also will be a wetlands restoration area that will re-create the natural flow of water across the property.
Also on the site is the Taylor Historical Addition. The former Taylor family home, which was built in 1910, is being restored, along with a barn and other buildings nearby. The buildings will be open for tours and geared toward school field trips.
“As one of the first citrus groves in Pinellas County, an area reserved for preservation and future rehabilitation by Heritage Village will provide an incredible window into our area’s past. Restoration is forthcoming in another project but not included in this construction,” said a county memo.
The proposed capital improvement project budget, presented to the Board of County Commissioners on June 22, recommends that the $3 million for completion of the Eagle Lake Park project be fully funded. The money would allow completion of the project.
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