From staff reports
Beaufort City Council got its first look April 12 at a proposed redesign of Southside Park. Woods + Partners, a landscape architecture firm based on Hilton Head Island, presented the proposed master plan at City Council Work Session.
The plan takes into account all the amenities proposed by the Southside Park Task Force, which was appointed by City Council in 2021 to solicit public input and present that information to City Council. In late January of this year, City Council selected Woods + Partners to develop a master plan.
The proposed plan includes a festival lawn in the center of the park. The lawn would be big enough to host two pickup soccer games. It would include a woodland playground that would have sections for younger and older children, and would include picnic tables. Connecting the festival lawn and playground would be a large pavilion that could hold about six picnic tables and would also have restrooms.
Other amenities include a renovated dog park that would have a pet fountain with misting sprays. The dog park would use K-9 grass, an artificial turf. A wetland habitat and wetland overlook are included. The plan calls for a 9-hole disc golf course, a community garden, and inner and outer trail loops. Smaller picnic pavilions would be scattered around the park. The plan also calls for fitness stations.
The public can email any comments on the proposed plan to Downtown Operations Director Linda Roper at lroper@cityofbeaufort.org by April 30.
Woods + Partners plans to present a final plan to City Council on May 10, with phasing recommendations and price estimates. Kyle Theodore, vice president of the firm, said that given the increasing cost of building supplies, the estimates could only be considered preliminary.
