City officials break ground on Gipson Play Plaza at Dix Park
City officials and the Dix Park Conservancy broke ground on the Gipson Play Plaza on Sunday.
Almost 20 acres of land will be transformed into a playground for all ages.
The 18.5-acre Gipson Play Plaza will feature a collection of playgrounds and gathering spaces for children of all ages.
“People think playgrounds and they think about 3-year-olds or 8-year-olds, but this is really multigenerational," said Dix Park President and CEO Janet Cowell. "A dad can go down the slide with his child or a bunch of teenagers might go hang out in the amphitheater and play by the waterfall. This is really meant to be for everyone.”
There will be climbing towers, a picnic grove, waterfall wall, large sand pit and civic plaza for festivals and performances.
The project received a $10 million donation from the Gipson family in December.
“The Gipson Play Plaza will feature exciting one-of-a-kind play spaces, a family-friendly picnic grove, a restored historic house and gardens, and an amazing water play mountain that will keep the kids entertained for hours,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said. “When people experience this space, they will fully understand the potential of Dix Park — and what it means to the future of our City.”
The space is being designed by renowned landscape architect firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. The firm’s other projects include Brooklyn Bridge Park in NYC, Gathering Place in Tulsa, Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, and the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The Gipson Play Plaza is expected to open in 2024.
