STEELE CREEK NEWS
First Phase of
Berewick Regional Park to Open at the End of 2009
(April 5, 2008)
Mecklenburg County park planners presented a plan for the Phase One
of Berewick Regional Park last Thursday. The park is located on the
north side of the Berewick development in northwest Steele Creek.
Originally classified as a district park, it has been upgraded to a
regional park.
The park contains a
total of 195 acres, but funding currently is only available to
develop the 38-acre first phase. A new elementary school is included
in this phase and will be located at a high point along Dixie River
Road. The Phase One site drops in elevation almost 150 feet from the
school down to Beaverdam Creek.
The elementary school
will feature a gym and other indoor facilities that will be used as
a recreation center when school is not in session. The school system
also will build two 60 by 60 foot playgrounds.
Berewick Park will have a sportsplex theme, with numerous
athletic fields designed with flexibility for use by different
sports and age groups. Phase One will contain three
baseball/softball fields that also could be used for soccer. It
also will have a restroom building.
The school will have
a parking area that will be used by buses during school days and
park visitors at other times plus one other car parking area.
During school hours, park visitors will use 12 parallel parking
spaces along a driveway. There will be 285 total parking spaces
available for park visitors after school hours. |
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Berewick Park Phase One |
Plans also call for
extensive landscaping that will include numerous trees and
shrubbery.
Construction for
additional phases is not funded or scheduled. Funding must come from
a future bond package and no timeline is available.
One compartment of
the future phases will be located on about 14 acres across Dixie
River Road from the school adjacent to Berewick residences. It's
expected not to contain ball fields but have more passive uses. It
may feature paved walking trails, a shelter, and a small playground.
The northern section
of the park is crossed by a power line that restricts where
facilities can go. This section will have several baseball or
softball fields and soccer fields a well as a dog park and several
parking areas.
The original master
plan adopted in 2003 had to be revised because a planned realignment
of Dixie River Road will not occur. The road will continue to split
the property. Topography and selection and design of the school site
also necessitated the shifting of some facilities. Additionally, one
12-acre site that was part of the original plan was never acquired.
The design for Phase
One of the park is complete, but the layout of the later phases
might change after a detailed assessment of the site and after
funding availability and community needs are known.
Park planners expect
to obtain required permits by October of this year and construction
should begin in December. Construction of Phase One should be
complete by December 2009.
Meanwhile,
construction also should begin soon on the elementary school. It is
scheduled to open for the fall 2009 school year.
Berewick Park has
been eagerly awaited by Berewick residents and the entire Steele
Creek community. Because Steele Creek is one of the fastest growing
areas of Mecklenburg County, new park and other facilities like this
one are badly needed to serve the increasing number of area
residents.
Click on the
image below to see a larger version of the master plan.
Click
HERE to view a PDF file of the master plan for the
Berewick Community that was adopted in June 2007. This plan will be
updated to reflect changes to the park.
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