The city of Athens dug in on the first construction phase of Sunrise Park, located on Pryor Street, with a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, March 19.

Athens, and several local partners, held a groundbreaking for the phase that will include the construction of a splash pad, inclusive playground, landscaping, parking, bathrooms, shelter, roadwork and underground utilities. The city held public input meetings during the design phase and received feedback about the need for a splash pad and more inclusive playground opportunities.

The estimated construction timeline for the splash pad 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,” Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said in a press release. “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 the plant in 2009. Marks and his staff negotiated with Pilgrim’s Pride for several years before finally securing an agreement to sell the site to Athens in 2017.

Martin and Cobey Construction Company are serving as project managers. 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 the city of Athens receiving the Alabama Planning Association — Alabama Chapter 2024 Award for Outstanding Planning for a Plan for Communities with a Population Less Than 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 is about $6.6 million. The city 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.

Funders thus far are:

— 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 introduction of native trees to the park

— 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.

As part of the groundbreaking, the Athens Mayor’s Youth Commission — which is composed of students in 10th-12th Grade — held its monthly meeting at Sunrise Park. KALB and the Limestone County Extension Office held an educational program for youth commissioners about the negative impact of litter and pollution on the environment and the importance of protecting water quality.