Monteith Riverpark on Monday afternoon: The view is past the playground toward the new stage in the distance.
Once again the construction gate was ajar and no one seemed to be around on Monday afternoon, so the bike and I snuck into Monteith Riverpark to look at how the park’s reconstruction was coming along.
As everybody in Albany knows, the park is being reshaped as part of the city’s $21.5 million Waterfront Project, the crowning effort of CARA, the downtown urban renewal district created in 2001.
The park is supposed to be reopened to the public by July 4. I can’t tell exactly how far along K&E Excavating and its subcontractors are with the park. But a casual glance, along with snapshots like these, suggests they’ve made a lot of progress.
For one thing, a huge amount of landscaping has been put in. I’m wondering about all that bark mulch you see in the photo at the top of this story. Is that going to become a headache in the maintenance department?
There’s an impressive expanse of concrete as you enter the park at Washington Street and Water Avenue. (That’s where the gate in the construction fence was open.)
The concrete entrance plaza in front of the former senior center, now the community center, looks pretty much finished. We’ll see how long it stays looking pristine once the place is open to the public.
The concrete playground below the plaza presumably will be covered — at least some of it — with some kind of soft material. And sooner or later the purpose of that massive concrete hump in the middle of the playground will become clear.
When I went in there Monday, I didn’t see anyone. But then a guy appeared, got in his pickup to leave and was about to close the gate behind him. I got out just before he locked up. (hh)
The plaza in front of the Riverfront Community Center at the entrance to Monteith Riverpark.
I give it a year before the landscaping is vandalized and then the City “has no money” to deal with it. Looks like parking will be a pain in the rear too.
Give it 3.5 to 5 years. There is a ton of doubt out here!
The brainchilds of this endeavor are on notice.
No PRESSURE!!!!!
Today there was a large sign made of scrap wood asking for donations at Marvin’s garden. Maybe they are starting their own nonprofit and cutting out the middle man that eat up most of the money. They may want to move to a nicer location. With running water and restrooms this may be the perfect spot. Taking the initiative to beg for money is doing a business, right? Without all the red tape they will have more money to live in homeless luxury. Us chumps that work for a living won’t be good enough for them.
So they eliminated the parking in front of the community center? There wasn’t enough as it was.
You are not supposed to be in the park. It is an active construction zone. Why don’t you think the rules apply to you Hasso?