ATHENS — In a move akin to making lemonade out of a lemon, the city of Athens is turning an abandoned eyesore into a crown jewel.
On the site of chicken processing plant that closed more than 15 years ago, Athens and its partners held a groundbreaking today for Sunrise Park.
The construction phase includes a splash pad, inclusive playground, landscaping, parking, bathrooms, shelter, roadwork and underground utilities.
The estimated construction timeline for the splashpad and playground is three to four months. The estimated timeline for the entire phase is six to eight months.
“This is a long-awaited step in the process to take an abandoned chicken plant on 32 acres near the heart of our city and turn it into an asset where families can enjoy the outdoors,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said. “I want to thank our City Council for seeing the importance of this project and supporting the vision.”
The site is on the former Pilgrim’s Pride property that was abandoned when the company closed its Athens plant in 2009. Marks and staff negotiated for multiple years and finally secured an agreement from Pilgrim’s to sell the site to Athens in 2017.
Martin and Cobey is serving as project manager. Alta Planning and Design, AMBL Studios and Morell Engineering worked with Athens on the design, and Recreational Concepts will construct the splash pad and playground.
The collaboration led to Athens receiving the Alabama Planning Association – Alabama Chapter 2024 Award for Outstanding Planning for a Plan for Communities with a Population Under 50,000 for Sunrise Park.
“Recreation continues to grow in Athens, and I have no doubt this will be a heavily used park,” Athens Recreation Director Bert Bradford said.
The furnishings, splash pad and playground, civil and utilities work, general work, site electrical and landscaping cost is about $6.6 million. Athens received more than $1 million in grants and sponsorships for this part of the project and allocated funding from the Athens G.O. Warrants Series 2024 Funds toward a majority of this portion of the project.
Funding sources:
- Limestone County Legislative Delegation – $28,967.50 community grant for project
- Dekko Foundation – $250,000 grant toward playground and splash pad
- Tennessee Valley Authority – $50,200 grant for native trees
- Alabama Mountain Lakes RC&D – $7,598 for benches, trash receptacles and picnic tables
- Alabama Department of Environmental Management – $570,841.50 for watershed type activities (native vegetation, permeable pavers, bioswales, etc.)
- ADEM – $100,000 for Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental testing
- Athens Ladies Civitan – $7,500 toward the wheelchair swing
In addition, Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful is working with the city to provide volunteer hours and educational outreach for the ADEM grant.
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