North Park in Spanish Fork to reopen

SPANISH FORK — Residents should get North Park back on Saturday, with a grand reopening party.

The reopening is a month behind schedule, but recreation director Dale Robinson said it should come in about $250,000 under the $4.2 million budget. Funding came from tax-increment funds and the electric budget for that area, said Seth Perrins, assistant city manager.

The popular park was abandoned about five years ago when city leaders took an offer from a developer and sold the park for a commercial development. Home Depot now owns the former park near the I-15 and U.S. 6 interchange but hasn't moved forward yet on building a new store there because of the recession, Perrins said. Rebuilding the interchange as part of the I-15 CORE project also begins later this month.

Environmental issues caused some of the delay in building the new park, located just north of the former park. The location was once wetlands, which created problems that had to be resolved before the Army Corps of Engineers would allow construction to begin.

The 10-acre park is much grander than the previous park, with a large pavilion that features roll-up doors so events may be held no matter the weather, Perrins said. It can seat 320 people.

Other park features include  a splash pad, playgrounds, a 2-acre "great lawn," 6,000 shrubs, nearly 300 trees, a garden area with a gazebo suitable for photo opportunities, two landscaped plazas and a half-mile trail planned to connect the city's entire master-planned trail system.

Grand-opening games and other activities begin at 11 a.m.

— Rodger L. Hardy