Heritage Park, the downtown green space that was fenced off for more than two years of construction, reopened to the public Thursday evening, Oct. 15.
The rebuilt park has a new stage, surround sound speakers and a walking plaza, KXII reported. KTEN described the reopening as a milestone for Phase 2 of the city's Designing Downtown Denison project.
Cones, gates and a long wait
For businesses on Main Street, the construction meant years of shifting road closures. Derrick Roberts, who owns Pop Around the Corner across from the stage, told KXII the yellow cones were out so long that business owners started giving them names, and that seeing no gate outside the park on Thursday morning "was crazy to see."
Roberts said he moved his shop to its current spot in 2021 because of the city's planned investment in the park. "I think this is gonna be a focal point that's gonna make other towns jealous," he told the station.
Main Street Director Donna Dow called the park "the heart of our downtown" in her KXII interview and singled out the sound system: "We have state-of-the-art sound, and we're very proud of it." She told KTEN the streetscape represents "10 years' worth of work."
A memorial kept in place
Dow told KTEN the site is "kind of sacred ground" because firefighters were lost in a 1989 fire there, and that the design keeps a firefighters memorial visitors can read about. Resident Zoanne Aday told KTEN the space will matter most in summer. "We need this. Families need this," she said.
