Henderson gravel pit to be redeveloped as park

Plans for Cornerstone Park near Stephanie Street and Wigwam Parkway have been in the works since 2005, but the city is forging ahead with the project now in part to avoid losing out on $16 million it received through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.

The 100-acre park will be anchored by an existing, 20-acre pond filled with seeping groundwater and storm runoff from the surrounding hills.

"It’s been kind of a complex process, but we’re really looking forward to the construction of this park, as are the residents," said Patricia Ayala, park planning manager for Nevada’s second-largest city.

A contingent of nearby homeowners turned out at a recent Planning Commission meeting to speak in favor of the project.

The Henderson City Council is slated to award a construction contract for the park on Aug. 2. If council members accept the low bid of $10.6 million from North Las Vegas-based APCO Construction, the work could begin as little as a week after that, Ayala said. "It’s on a pretty fast track."

The new park is scheduled to open next summer.

APCO is the same construction company picked by Las Vegas to build the Mob Museum downtown.

City Councilwoman Kathleen Boutin can remember talk about turning the old gravel pit into a park as much as a decade ago, back when she served on Henderson’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee.

"I’m happy that we’re finally getting this thing going," said Boutin, whose Ward 3 includes Cornerstone Park.

DON’T DRINK THE WATER

Plans for the park have changed significantly over the years. Gone are the boat docks and fishing areas that were envisioned in early sketches of the property.

Those ideas had to be scrapped because of how the lake is filled, said Brenda Pohlmann, environmental projects manager for the city.

Several different storm channels empty into the small body of water. In the days immediately after a rainstorm, the water is fouled by oil washed from the streets and other pollutants, Pohlmann said.

As Ayala put it, "We have no control of the quality of the water and no way of cleaning it up before it gets to the lake."

It was another form of pollution that originally posed problems for the site.

Years ago, water found on and around the old gravel pit regularly showed significant concentrations of perchlorate, a common rocket fuel ingredient that was once manufactured in Henderson.

For a time, the property’s nickname around City Hall was Lake Perchlorate, but Pohlmann said the problem has slowly worked itself out on its own.

The levels began to drop as soon as perchlorate production stopped and the gravel operation shut down, ending the practice of using contaminated groundwater to control dust.

Today, perchlorate concentrations in the lake are so low that they pose no risk, Pohlmann said.

Park project took YEARS of planning

The city has been sitting on funding for Cornerstone Park since August 2005, when the Bureau of Land Management agreed to help pay for the project with proceeds from the sale of federal land in the valley.

Earlier this month, federal officials extended the deadline for the grant, giving Henderson until December 2012 to spend the money or return it.

Ayala said the park will have something to offer everyone from bird­watchers to business owners looking for someplace to have company picnics.

The final design seeks to preserve some areas in their natural state so people can stroll on dirt trails and "commune with the lake," Ayala said.

Elsewhere, there will be paved bike and walking trails, exercise stations and a large open turf area.

There are no ball fields, lighted or other­wise, but plans do include two basketball courts and two volleyball courts with lights for each.

One group-use area will be large enough to accommodate as many as 1,000 people at a time.

Designers put the heavy-use areas on one side of the lake and the more natural areas on the other to preserve some tranquility.

The two sides of the lake will be connected by a walking path through some wetlands and a large art piece called "Surface Tension," which will feature two rows of red, metal pylons sticking out of the water.

According to a description included in the park designs, the work by Arizona artist Kirby Hoyt is designed to show the height of a 100-year flood event and remind people that the lake was "created by human manipulation and of the resiliency of nature."

public input helps craft final design

City officials had about a half-dozen public meetings leading up to the final design, but Ayala said they couldn’t accommodate the wishes of everyone. The park has no amenities for anglers or remote-control boat hobbyists, for example, but it does reflect most of the input the city received from residents.

"I don’t think there’s been anyone who said don’t build anything. It’s been, ‘Build it my way,’ " Ayala said.

Eventually, plans call for the walking paths at Cornerstone Park to be tied into existing trails at Arroyo Grande Park and along Pittman Wash, less than a mile away.

Other amenities such as playground equipment and a dog park could be added in future phases.

This marks the second major park project undertaken in Henderson since the economic downturn began, and it comes as city officials in North Las Vegas are debating whether they can afford to keep their existing parks open.

Early last year, Henderson opened Heritage Park, a 160-acre complex at the city’s eastern edge that includes a new senior center and indoor aquatic facility.

This might not seem like the best time for a city to be expanding facilities, Ayala said, but a project such as Cornerstone Park could give a much-needed boost to the neighborhood and the community as a whole. After all, she said, what better time to help put a local contractor to work and maybe boost the surrounding property values a bit in the process?

Establishing a park also should help protect a site that might otherwise invite illegal dumping and blight.

"There used to be a lot of shopping carts in the lake that our park maintenance people would have to remove," Ayala said.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.