Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis will see some renovations and improvements over the next few years. Park officials are unveiling a 20-year master plan on Wednesday.
The park’s new master plan includes expanding and enhancing some of the more popular areas of the park, including the farmer’s market.
The park’s executive director, Bill Reininger, said more than 200 people attended an open house in January and over 1,200 people have made suggestions for the park’s renovations through an online survey.
“I think people are going to be excited about new recreational opportunities,” Reininger said. “The park is going to be more accessible for everybody. So just good things all the way around.”
Among some of the recreational activities will be fields for futsal, sand volleyball and basketball courts. Five additional bathrooms, a 2.5 mile running track, workout stations and a hammock swing area will be also be installed.
Faye Harwell, principal of the park's planning firm Rhodeside & Harwell, said the main goal was to preserve the park’s historic collections of architecture, tree species and sculptures. She said what makes Tower Grove Park unique is its “Victorian spirit."
Tower Grove Park is a designated National Historic Landmark. Harwell said there are always challenges when it comes to preserving a historic park. She said the first step was to research the park’s original design and intent.
“Those kinds of challenges of understanding that intent and understanding that historic design were really important for us to learn when we began the master plan process,” Harwell said.
The plan also includes some modern upgrades like like WiFi hubs, electric charging stations and QR codes scattered throughout the park.
The renovations excite Tower Grove South resident Patty Carleton, 64, who enjoys bringing her grandson Arty to play in the park.
"Lot's of times, it's just a pleasant place," Carleton said.
The plan is to be revealed to the public in the park’s Piper Palm House Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. Suggestions for park renovations can be made until Sept. 7 by emailing masterplan@towersgrovepark.org. The plan will be finalized at the end of September.
