The new year is shaping up to be one of large-scale park improvements in Chippewa Falls. In fact, 2017 will be the year that residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a long-awaited Riverfront Park overlooking the Chippewa River near the downtown dam.

Phase 1 of the park project was finished late last year, and the area at the corner of Bridge and River streets is now a functional park, said Chippewa Falls City Planner Jayson Smith. Seven acres of lawn were seeded last fall, hundreds of trees and shrubs were planted, amphitheater seating was created, and pavers were installed for an entrance plaza.

Starting in the spring, expect a similar flurry of work as Phase II begins. These upcoming efforts will make the park a space where programs can be held, Smith said.

A stage – featuring a canopy roof that can support lighting, video equipment, and speakers – will be built facing the amphitheater; restrooms will be installed; fountains will become operational; and a second entrance to the park at Bay Street will be created. This work will be paid for through an ongoing $2 million private fundraising campaign.

If construction begins in earnest in the spring, the work should be finished by mid-August, which means the amphitheater could potentially be hosting events for 3,000 to 4,000 people before summer is out.

Just a couple of miles away, efforts will continue to create another Chippewa Falls park in 2017. A private effort is ongoing to build Erickson Park overlooking Glen Loch Lake, just across from the north end of Irvine Park.

At the beginning of January, the Chippewa Falls City Council OK’d an agreement to put a nonprofit, Special Friends Inc., in charge of receiving money for the project, the Chippewa Herald reported. Among other things, plans for the underused property call for the creation of a handicapped-accessible fishing pier and a footbridge across the water to Irvine Park.

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Next: River Prairie Goes Public

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