FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new park is coming to Fayetteville thanks to a generous donation by a local business owner.
65-acres of land near Arkansas Highway 112 and Deane Solomon Road sit waiting to be turned into Underwood park.
“We know that green space in our cities, parks, and trails brings in people into our community. It makes a healthy community. It will help this community to grow socially, environmentally, and it preserves a beautiful 65 acres," said Connie Edmonston, Fayetteville Director of Parks and Recreation.
The former Razorback Golf Course was purchased in 2017 by Underwoods Fine Jewelry owners Craig and Laura Underwood.
A parks and rec board member convinced the couple to move up their timeline of developing the area.
“It started growing and getting larger and we talked with different members of the community of how we could utilize the land best for not only developing the land but what’s best for the neighborhood and the community," Underwood said.
Where the old clubhouse still sits will be developed for multifamily units. Meanwhile, the community will have a voice in how Underwood Park turns out.
“We will have several master plan meetings and involve the public to come and to give their input into the park to see how they would like this park to be developed," Edmonston said.
The park itself will have paths that connect to existing trails.
People can expect the pond to be stocked for fishing, beautiful gazebos, park benches and picnic tables for decades to come.
“There’s so many family activities and events that can be done at a quality park and we have so many fond memories of gully park we wanted to be able to share that with the Razorback Golf Course property," Underwood said.
A legacy the Underwood's can be proud of.
The parkland will be opened to the public sometime this spring.
The director of the parks and recreation department says planning and development of the Underwood Park could take a few years to complete.