On Saturday, June 20th, the City of Portage, the Portage Parks and Recreation Department, and the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of Founders Square Park in downtown Portage with a ribbon cutting ceremony. City officials and members of the public gathered together to also enjoy a ceremonial turning on of the new splash pad, which kids were eagerly anticipating, live musical entertainment and the new market area filled with vendors and food stands.
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“The first portion of the new park to open is the splash pad,” said Nancy Simpson from the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. “Today we’re going to hear from some city officials, cut the ribbon on the park and then head over to the splash pad where all the kids here will gather together when we turn it on.”
“The project will take place in phases,” Simpson continued. “Over the next few years there will be an amphitheater and a new fire department constructed in and around the park as well as a new apartment complex to be built. Originally, the water tower and the main road were here to begin with and Portage decided, you know, we need to make a downtown, and this is the beginning of that.”
Director of Community Development, A.J. Monroe has played a big part in seeing this project come to life over the last several years.
“This project idea of Founders Square was started about ten years ago,” Monroe said. “Our Redevelop Commission was building the first phase of infrastructure for the downtown when the project was first conceived and then it was set aside for a while. Last summer, construction of everything was picked back up on the park, the splash pad, and our four family restrooms here.”
“Around the four corners of the park we’ve built large columns,” Monroe continued. “Right now those columns are blank but the idea is to one day install plaques recognizing the founders of our community. One plaque will talk about how we’re always continuing the ‘founding’ of our community so it will be a plaque that looks to the future and to our future generations. This plaque will most likely reside close to where the kids will be playing. This wasn’t meant to be a big amusement park. It’s going to be part of a tasteful downtown and this is just the first piece of that.”
Deacon Arthur Johnson, who does a lot of volunteering in the Portage community, was enjoying the festivities and celebrating the new addition to the city.
“Watching the city grow over the last several years and seeing companies come in has been great,” Deacon Johnson said. “The city is vibrant, it’s moving, and it’s going on in Portage!”
“This is the kind of stuff Portage needs,” said Chuck Litzkow, a firefighter with the Portage Fire Department. “The most important part of all that’s going on is the redevelopment and the building up of the new downtown. We’ll be lucky to have a new fire department and a redeveloped police station. There’s a lot of great things happening.”
The next phase of creating the new downtown Portage will be the construction of the Performance Pavilion and the new Fire Station.
