Normally, I would ignore an announcement that Bonnet Springs Park — the mammoth 168-acre tract between West Memorial Boulevard and George Jenkins Boulevard that has been under development for the past six years — is scheduled to open.
Not this time.
Ground was broken for the park in March 2020, although planning started years before that. Since that time, the result of an opening-date announcement has always been the same: Announce the opening for the coming spring. Push the date back as winter ends to the beginning of summer. Summer nears, the opening turns to autumn. Autumn’s date lapses into winter. Repeat.
Driving by on Kathleen Road, the progress sometimes seemed of the two-steps-forward-one-step-back variety. Dirt piled up one day would wash away the next. A steel frame would spring up overnight, then stand barren for weeks.
But this time, there is a date, and it is a firm date: October 22 — the fourth Saturday.
Not only is there a firm date, but there are buildings, a big treehouse, trails, benches, lights and water features. With 119 days remaining, what’s left to be done seems doable.
In a video about the coming opening, Josh Henderson, CEO for the park, begins with “It’s about time,” referencing the line that was repeated at the start of the video by many Lakelanders. It has, indeed, been a long time coming.
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Henderson, who has spent more than 20 years in the parks management arena, was hired after the groundbreaking and, according to a Bonnet Springs Park press release at the time, was to lead “the charge to the Grand Opening at Bonnet Springs Park in 2021.”
Oops. There’s that optimistic opening-date business popping up again.
But it is here — almost — along with a new Explorations V Children’s Museum (which will become Florida Children’s Museum), meeting and dining facilities, three playground areas, a butterfly habitat and a nearly three-mile walking path.
Land for the park was a former railroad yard, and a main influence for Lakeland’s early growth. Once the largest railyard in Florida, it was unneeded and closed in the 1980s.
All of the development has been done through private funding. Park officials have said that the outpouring of community support exceeded expectations and has allowed several projects to be added.
And as a result, everything has either a family name or business name attached to it. There are more than two dozen things that are named one way or the other.
All of this can be found on the park’s website: www.bonnetspringspark.com. There are maps of the park; a collection of monthly newsletters about its progress; video tours of what’s there and what’s to come.
The website has places to donate (which are tax deductible), and an explanation of how to volunteer. There’s a place to order a four-by-eight inch inscribed brick for $200. The memorial benches are currently sold out.
The website is a glimpse into the future — a future that is now just over 100 days away. This time, I seriously doubt they’ll push back the Oct. 22 date, short of a hurricane. This time, they’ll make deadline. You’ll want to see it.
Mark your calendar.
Lonnie Brown can be reached at LedgerDatabase@aol.com.
