PALMETTO — Celebrating an achievement that has been years in the making, residents, community leaders and Manatee County officials gathered May 7 to open Washington Park, an 88-acre jewel in the heart of the neighborhood.
Generations as yet unborn will enjoy the park, spearheaded by the community and supported by the county, said Bishop Lawrence C. Livingston, of Eternity Temple, for whom the park’s nearly completed community center is co-named along with Elder Clifford B. Livingston.
The park at 3011 Eighth Ave. E. also includes a playground, picnic pavilions, restrooms and the first of many walking trails.
There are more to come, with $3.5 million allocated for future improvements, said Charlie Hunsicker, director of Natural Resources for Manatee County, calling the park “a center of engagement, prayer and peace.”
Manatee County District 2 Commissioner Amanda Ballard, emcee for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the park’s opening on the National Day of Prayer was especially meaningful, as it is an answer to the community’s longtime prayers.
“This community held my feet to the fire in this project, and I’m grateful that you did,” she told the group of about 150 who stayed to enjoy lunch at the large picnic pavilions.
Laura Wallace, chair of the Washington Park Community Development Corp., thanked past and present county commissioners, including the late Gwen Brown, Bishop Livingston and Rita Smith, president of the Washington Park Community Committee, for their roles in creating the park.
“This space will be a hub for innovation,” she said, “and a sanctuary for celebrations.”