Iowa City’s new Riverfront Crossings Park, located directly east of the Iowa River and south of Benton Street, has repurposed a property devastated by the 2008 flood into a unique recreational area.
After a year of construction, the 17-acre park’s trails, event grounds, and play area are open to the public, though the main entryway is unfinished. The final features, including parking lots, should be completed by October.
“It should be a good use of that land down by the river,” said Juli Seydell Johnson, the city director of parks & recreation.
The park was designed with flood-risk at the forefront, built on the former location of the Iowa City North Wastewater Treatment Plant. Seydell Johnson said five acres of wetland in the lower third of the park should contain most of the water in any flood.
The play area should withstand flooding as well. The trails are built above the 500-year flood line, meaning that even in an extreme flood, they should remain dry.
Nic Cohrs and Sam Dean, concrete specialists at Concrete Central, said the restroom and shelter facility, still under construction, is the most well-constructed and engineered restroom they have ever worked on. The electrical outlets are above the 500-year flood line, and 3 feet of rock underneath the facility should keep it dry.
The rest of the park impressed them, too. Dean said many people have started using the area.
“There are lots of people using it already, and it isn’t even finished yet,” he said.
Seydell Johnson said her department incorporated feedback from community members who asked for something unique and accessible, when designing the $428,000 play area.
“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s different. Lots of different experiences for a lot of different age groups and ability levels, so I feel really fortunate we got to do it.”
The 2.5-acre space combines natural structures with traditional play equipment to foster creativity and imagination, she said. There are log structures and boulders for climbing, as well as traditional swings and slides.
A dual zipline with a chair on one side will allow children of different abilities to play together.
One special feature, the Calder Adventure Path, honors a child from Iowa City who died of cancer last year. Seydell Johnson said his family donated to the park.
“It’s like a small American Ninja Warrior path, for kids, and you run down, and there are obstacles to climb up and under and over,” she said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
The play area connects to Ralston Creek to give people access to the water, something residents wanted, she said. The water above the creek has been tested and has not been deemed unsafe, though parents should keep an eye on their children.
The original park concept included ziplines over the river and a whitewater rafting course. It would have cost $55 million to modify a dam upriver, a drowning hazard, so her department backed away from the idea.
The park’s bike trails are very popular, Seydell Johnson said. Danny Standley, a managing partner and general manager at Big Grove Brewery, said the trails have brought many riders to the restaurant, located right near the new park.
The park fits the restaurant’s vibe and style well, he said, and he thinks the park will make the area cooler and family-friendly.