ST. LOUIS — Next spring, children and families will have a new place to play in Forest Park when a new 17-acre playscape is complete.
The Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape is in its final stage of construction and is scheduled to open in late spring 2021, according to a press release from Forest Park Forever.
Located near the World’s Fair Pavilion, the playscape is an "experiential green space," that encourages visitors to connect and engage with nature and features nine activity areas called Mounds, Spring, Meadow, and Wetland.
Forest Park Forever will work with the City of St. Louis to ensure there will be proper health and safety protocols and guidelines when the playspace opens, the release said.
Between now and the anticipated late spring opening, Forest Park Forever said it will give some glimpses of the project on social media and offer tours, either virtually or in small groups.
Construction on the project began in spring 2019 and it is funded by donations made to Forest Park Forever.
Forest Park Forever said crews have completed the following:
- Installed 36,000 perennials and grasses and 671 shrubs
- Planted 300 new and transplanted trees
- Constructed nearly 1 mile of ADA-accessible paved and wood chip paths
- Constructed 4 new wooden boardwalks
- Installed 1,500 tons of Missouri limestone boulders and ledge rock
- Installed 30 tons of sand for new sand box play areas
- Installed 5 water pumps and two boot-washing stations
- Installed 1,500 wooden stump steppers, made from fallen or hazard trees
- Built 15-plus benches, made from fallen or hazard local trees
- Installed 7 new bike racks and 3 drinking fountains at the entrance areas
This is the work that is yet to be complete:
- Restoring areas that were damaged during heavy 2020 storms
- Planting shrubs and trees in the northern activity areas
- Installing a comprehensive wayfinding signage system
- Completing final chip-and-seal coating of paved asphalt paths
- Nurturing recently planted beds to ensure a successful first year of growth
“It has been truly amazing to see the Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape take shape over the past year and a half,” said Lesley S. Hoffarth, President and Executive Director of Forest Park Forever. “From our early community engagement to ongoing conversations with local educators and families, we know how excited the community is for this experiential new destination. I would like to thank the Albrecht Family Foundation for their extraordinary support of this project, as well as the additional leadership donors who have made it possible. We can’t wait to cut the ribbon in 2021 and begin seeing the St. Louis community enjoy this wonderful new space.”
For more information on the project, visit forestparkforever.org/playscape.
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