Private group proposes ambitious Leland Central Park concept
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — A concept looking to bring a large multi-purpose park to Leland was discussed and presented at a meeting held at Brunswick Beer and Cider Friday night.
The proposed Leland Central Park would cover 110 acres, or about 14 times larger than Leland Founders Park, which is currently under renovation.
The concept study was done by a group of residents to see what a multi-purpose park would look like and how it would benefit the Town of Leland.
The park would sit inside a 1.5-mile roundabout road with four distinct areas: a green space for walking around, a recreational area with courts for basketball, pickleball, and other sports, a 1700-seat amphitheater, and a commercial district with fine dining and shops.
John Wozniak gave a presentation about the concept and said the town would benefit greatly if the park was built.
“Leland desperately needs some fine dining locations,” Wozniak said. “Also that many people in Leland drive across the bridge for entertainment and fine dining restaurants and they feel that should be part of our community also. And as Leland continues to grow over the next decade or so, something like a centerpiece park that has multiple purposes made a lot of sense to us.”
The study was done without any taxpayer money and has not been endorsed or supported by the Town of Leland.
Despite that, council member Bill McHugh attended the presentation and said parks are an important focus for the town going forward.
“We’re currently fully redoing Leland Founders Park,” McHugh said. “We’re working on building out Sturgeon Creek Park in the near future. So this is a priority for us, parks and green spaces. So I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to get some outside input from folks in the community about what they want.”
But there is some pushback against the idea.
Council member Veronica Carter said she’s most concerned about whether the town could pay for it or if the town even had the land for such a project.
And resident Linda Solheim said she wonders how the park would be taken care of.
“There was no discussion at all about the ability to maintain this property,” Solheim said. “The staffing that would be required, the landscaping, people to clean, empty the trash, maintain the bocce ball courts and the volleyball courts. Just to maintain the facility would require a very large staff.”
A spokesperson for the Town of Leland said they have met with the group who made the study and told them to continue trying to get more support and finalize their proposal before bringing it before the council.
