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[[McIntire Park]] is a [[Charlottesville]] park named in honor of its benefactor, [[Paul Goodloe McIntire]], who donated the land.
[[McIntire Park]] is a [[Charlottesville]] park named in honor of its benefactor, [[Paul Goodloe McIntire]], who donated the land. McIntire intended for the park to be reserved for white citizens only and donated land for [[Washington Park]] to be reserved for African-Americans. <ref>{{cite web|title=HISTORY OF WASHINGTON PARK|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/departments-and-services/departments-h-z/parks-recreation-/parks-trails/city-parks/parks-history/history-of-washington-park|author=|work=|publisher=City of Charlottesville|location=|publishdate=|accessdate=March 23, 2016}}</ref>{{fact}}


It is home to the [[Dogwood Vietnam Memorial]].
It is home to the [[Dogwood Vietnam Memorial]].
[[File:McIntirePark.jpg|400px|thumb|right|McIntire Park at Sunrise]]
[[File:McIntirePark.jpg|400px|thumb|left|McIntire Park at Sunrise]]
 
{{clear}}


==Amenities==
==Amenities==
McIntire park is home to  
[[image:Chubby-softball.gif|thumb|right]]McIntire park is home to  
*walking trails
*skate park
*children's playground
*softball fields
*a baseball field
*picnic shelters
*YMCA
 
===Former amenities===
*a golf course
*a golf course
*a children's playground and wading pool,
*wading pool
*walking trails,  
 
*softball fields,  
==History==
*a baseball field, and
A trial experiment with lighted of tennis courts took place in 1940. The [[Young Men's Business Club]] paid for the endeavor. <ref>{{cite-progress-lindsay|title=Tennis Courts To Be Lighted at McIntire|url=http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2763703/view#openLayer/uva-lib:2763711/4984/1643/3/1/0|author=Staff Reports|pageno=8|printdate=August 9, 1940|publishdate=August 9, 1940|accessdate=August 9, 2016 from University of Virginia Library}}</ref>
*picnic shelters.


==Events==
==Events==
McIntire Park is traditionally home to the annual [[Dogwood Festival]] carnival and the July Fourth fireworks display{{fact}}.  
McIntire Park is traditionally home to the annual [[Dogwood Festival]] carnival and the July Fourth fireworks display{{fact}}.  


==Proposed developments==
==21st century evolution==
===Meadowcreek Parkway===
===Impacts from John Warner Parkway===
The plans for the city portion of the [[Meadowcreek Parkway]] along the eastern edge of McIntire Park. The [[Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park]] pursued a series of lawsuits to stop construction, including one against the Federal Highway Administration which was heard on April 25, 2012.<ref name="feb12-update">{{cite web|title=Parkway interchange awaits result of federal lawsuit|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/02/interchange-lawsuit-update.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 26, 2012|accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref> On May 29, 2012, Judge Norman K. Moon dismissed the case against the FHWA, allowing the project to proceed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Judge Moon rules against Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park; Parkway Interchange to proceed|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/05/interchange-lawsuit-resolved.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=May 29, 2012|accessdate=June 25, 2012}}</ref>
The city's portion of the [[John Warner Parkway]] runs along the eastern edge of McIntire Park. The [[Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park]] pursued a series of lawsuits to stop construction, including one against the Federal Highway Administration which was heard on [[April 25]], [[2012]].<ref name="feb12-update">{{cite web|title=Parkway interchange awaits result of federal lawsuit|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/02/interchange-lawsuit-update.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 26, 2012|accessdate=February 28, 2012}}</ref> On May 29, 2012, Judge [[Norman K. Moon]] dismissed the case against the FHWA, allowing the project to proceed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Judge Moon rules against Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park; Parkway Interchange to proceed|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/05/interchange-lawsuit-resolved.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=May 29, 2012|accessdate=June 25, 2012}}</ref>


====Golf====
====Golf====
McIntire Park is home to a nine-hole golf course that would be disrupted or eliminated by Parkway construction. The group [[Save McIntire Golf]] is advocating for retention of the course in some form because it is home to the [[First Tee of Charlottesville]], a program that seeks to educate children about golf and leadership.  
McIntire Park was home to a nine-hole golf course that would be disrupted or eliminated by Parkway construction. The group [[Save McIntire Golf]] advocated for retention of the course in some form because it was home to the [[First Tee of Charlottesville]], a program that sought to educate children about golf and leadership. Golf activities ceased by the end of 2015. <ref>{{cite web|title=Council briefed on city parks and recreation department plans|url=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/22772-charlottesville-parks-briefing/|author=Sean Tubbs|work=News Article|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=January 9, 2016|accessdate=December 27, 2016}}</ref> That was a year ahead of schedule. <ref name="reuben" >{{cite web|title=Public gives input on new McIntire Park design|url=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/18245-public-gives-input-on-new-mcintire-park-design/|author=Reuben Jones|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=June 4, 2014|accessdate=December 27, 2014}}</ref>


====Botanical Gardens====
====Botanical Gardens====
[[McIntire Botanical Garden]], a non-profit group, is advocating creation of a botanical garden in the east end of the park in areas that have been home to the municipal golf course.
[[McIntire Botanical Garden]], a non-profit group, is creating a botanical garden in the east end of the park in areas that have been home to the municipal golf course.


===YMCA===
====YMCA====
The [[Piedmont Family YMCA]] plans construction of a fitness and aquatic center in the western half of the Park. A group called the [[McIntire Park Preservation Committee]] formed to try to prevent this construction, or at least to ensure that the construction does not eliminate two softball fields at the park.  
The [[Piedmont Family YMCA]] constructed a fitness and aquatic center in the western half of the Park. A group called the [[McIntire Park Preservation Committee]] had formed to try to prevent this construction, or at least to ensure that the construction does not eliminate two softball fields at the park.  


The project is currently on hold pending the Virginia Supreme Court's resolution of a lawsuit filed against Charlottesville claiming that it broke Virginia's procurement laws by not allowing private companies to submit a request for proposals to operate an aquatic facility on city-owned land. <ref>{{cite web|title=Fitness group sues Albemarle and Charlottesville over YMCA|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2010/05/ymca-lawsuit.html|author=|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=May 13, 2010|accessdate=January 12, 2011}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|title=VA Supreme Court to hear YMCA case of fitness clubs vs. Albemarle|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2011/08/supreme_court_to_hear_ymca_case.html|author=Brian Wheeler|work=|publisher=Charlottesvillee Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=August 22, 2011|accessdate=August 23, 2011}}</ref> The court is expected to hear the case in the spring of 2012.
The project was stalled for many years pending resolution of a Virginia Supreme Court case that claimed Charlottesville and Albemarle County broke Virginia's procurement laws by not allowing private companies to submit a request for proposals to operate an aquatic facility on city-owned land. <ref>{{cite web|title=Fitness group sues Albemarle and Charlottesville over YMCA|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2010/05/ymca-lawsuit.html|author=|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=May 13, 2010|accessdate=January 12, 2011}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|title=VA Supreme Court to hear YMCA case of fitness clubs vs. Albemarle|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2011/08/supreme_court_to_hear_ymca_case.html|author=Brian Wheeler|work=|publisher=Charlottesvillee Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=August 22, 2011|accessdate=August 23, 2011}}</ref> The court heard the case in the spring of 2012 and threw out the case in January 2014. {{fact}}
 
Financing was secured in late 2015 allowing the project to break ground.  
 
====Skate Park====
 
Skate park opened in 2019. {{fact}}
 
====The Grove====
Fund-raising is underway for a memorial garden that will commemorate those who have won the [[Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award]]. The [[Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce]] and a citizens group. They had raised nearly half the $600,00 for the project, which will see a stone terrace around a grove of decades-old oak trees. <ref>{{cite-progress|title=Fundraising for McIntire Park civic memorial plaza approaches halfway point|url=https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/fundraising-for-mcintire-park-civic-memorial-plaza-approaches-halfway-point/article_fdee3371-4fa5-50b1-aab4-bd232aff5f62.html|author=Bryan McKenzie|pageno=A1|printdate=December 16, 2019|publishdate=December 15, 2019|accessdate=December 23, 2019}}</ref>


==Past development==
==Past development==
Line 35: Line 54:


==Eastern side master plan==
==Eastern side master plan==
The city is undertaking a master planning process for the eastern side of the park, a process that began in the fall of 2011 with three public meetings. More public meetings have been held in 2012<ref name=cityeastplan>{{cite web|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=3089|title=McIntire Park Planning||publisher=City of Charlottesville|work=official website|publishdate=|accessdate=8 Dec 2011}}</ref>. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held a public hearing in {{as of|2012|3|31|alt=March 2012}}. <ref>{{cite web|title=McIntire Park planning process continues|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/02/mcintire-park-design.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 29, 2012|accessdate=March 9, 2012}}</ref> That will be followed with a public hearing before the Planning Commission and the City Council.
In September 2012, [[City Council]] adopted a master plan for eastern side of the park. <ref name="adoption">{{cite web|title=Golf to leave McIntire sooner; Recreational fields still at issue|url=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/12829-mcintire-plan/|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=September 4, 2012|accessdate=May 20, 2013}}</ref> That process began in the fall of 2011 with three public meetings. More public meetings have been held in 2012<ref name=cityeastplan>{{cite web|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=3089|title=McIntire Park Planning||publisher=City of Charlottesville|work=official website|publishdate=|accessdate=8 Dec 2011}}</ref>. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held a public hearing in {{as of|2012|3|31|alt=March 2012}}. <ref>{{cite web|title=McIntire Park planning process continues|url=http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/02/mcintire-park-design.html|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 29, 2012|accessdate=March 9, 2012}}</ref>  
 
<gallery park=3 caption="Options currently under consideration (click to enlarge)">
File:Mcintire-east-A.gif|Option A
File:Mcintire-east-B.gif|Option B
File:Mcintire-east-C.gif|Option C
</gallery>
 


The Final Master Plan Report outlines planned changes to the park to be adopted, including the development of a trail and bike system. In addition, the [[Charlottesville Skateboard Park]] will be relocated to the southwest side of the park, where currently there is parking for the golf course. The golf course itself will remain open, but will be reverted to passive use no later than January 1, 2020 at which time it will be decided if the course may be relocated. Upon its reversion to passive use, portions of the golf course may also be used for the expansion of the botanical gardens.
The Final Master Plan Report outlines planned changes to the park to be adopted, including the development of a trail and bike system. In addition, the [[Charlottesville Skateboard Park]] will be relocated to the southwest side of the park, where currently there is parking for the golf course. The golf course itself will remain open, but will be reverted to passive use by the end of 2016. Upon its reversion to passive use, portions of the golf course may also be used for the expansion of the botanical gardens.


The wading pool will be closed permanently following the conclusion of the 2013 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Community Guided Park Master Plan for McIntire Park East Side|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=22691|author=|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Parks & Recreation|location=|publishdate=June 20, 2012|accessdate=July 16, 2012}}</ref>
The wading pool was closed permanently following the conclusion of the 2013 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Community Guided Park Master Plan for McIntire Park East Side|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=22691|author=|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Parks & Recreation|location=|publishdate=June 20, 2012|accessdate=July 16, 2012}}</ref>


The city hired multinational design corporation Stantec and [[Line + Grade]] to construct a skate park concept and Baltimore-based Mahan-Rykiel to design the park plan. <ref name="reuben" /> The skate park and the pedestrian bridge were officially opened on [[April 20]], 2019. <ref>{{cite web|title=Pedestrian railroad crossing in McIntire Park moving forward|url=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/26482-pedestrian-railroad-crossing-in-mcintire-park-bid/|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 26, 2017|accessdate=December 27, 2017}}</ref>


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 14:15, 23 December 2019

McIntire Park is a Charlottesville park named in honor of its benefactor, Paul Goodloe McIntire, who donated the land. McIntire intended for the park to be reserved for white citizens only and donated land for Washington Park to be reserved for African-Americans. [1][citation needed]

It is home to the Dogwood Vietnam Memorial.

McIntire Park at Sunrise

Amenities

Chubby-softball.gif

McIntire park is home to

  • walking trails
  • skate park
  • children's playground
  • softball fields
  • a baseball field
  • picnic shelters
  • YMCA

Former amenities

  • a golf course
  • wading pool

History

A trial experiment with lighted of tennis courts took place in 1940. The Young Men's Business Club paid for the endeavor. [2]

Events

McIntire Park is traditionally home to the annual Dogwood Festival carnival and the July Fourth fireworks display[citation needed].

21st century evolution

Impacts from John Warner Parkway

The city's portion of the John Warner Parkway runs along the eastern edge of McIntire Park. The Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park pursued a series of lawsuits to stop construction, including one against the Federal Highway Administration which was heard on April 25, 2012.[3] On May 29, 2012, Judge Norman K. Moon dismissed the case against the FHWA, allowing the project to proceed.[4]

Golf

McIntire Park was home to a nine-hole golf course that would be disrupted or eliminated by Parkway construction. The group Save McIntire Golf advocated for retention of the course in some form because it was home to the First Tee of Charlottesville, a program that sought to educate children about golf and leadership. Golf activities ceased by the end of 2015. [5] That was a year ahead of schedule. [6]

Botanical Gardens

McIntire Botanical Garden, a non-profit group, is creating a botanical garden in the east end of the park in areas that have been home to the municipal golf course.

YMCA

The Piedmont Family YMCA constructed a fitness and aquatic center in the western half of the Park. A group called the McIntire Park Preservation Committee had formed to try to prevent this construction, or at least to ensure that the construction does not eliminate two softball fields at the park.

The project was stalled for many years pending resolution of a Virginia Supreme Court case that claimed Charlottesville and Albemarle County broke Virginia's procurement laws by not allowing private companies to submit a request for proposals to operate an aquatic facility on city-owned land. [7] [8] The court heard the case in the spring of 2012 and threw out the case in January 2014. [citation needed]

Financing was secured in late 2015 allowing the project to break ground.

Skate Park

Skate park opened in 2019. [citation needed]

The Grove

Fund-raising is underway for a memorial garden that will commemorate those who have won the Paul Goodloe McIntire Citizenship Award. The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and a citizens group. They had raised nearly half the $600,00 for the project, which will see a stone terrace around a grove of decades-old oak trees. [9]

Past development

The construction of the U.S. Route 250 bypass ran through the park, with one section of the old park becoming what is now Greenleaf Park. Another former section, at the southeast end of McIntire Road near the rescue squad, initially became tennis courts and is now the Charlottesville Skateboard Park.

Eastern side master plan

In September 2012, City Council adopted a master plan for eastern side of the park. [10] That process began in the fall of 2011 with three public meetings. More public meetings have been held in 2012[11]. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held a public hearing in March 2012. [12]

The Final Master Plan Report outlines planned changes to the park to be adopted, including the development of a trail and bike system. In addition, the Charlottesville Skateboard Park will be relocated to the southwest side of the park, where currently there is parking for the golf course. The golf course itself will remain open, but will be reverted to passive use by the end of 2016. Upon its reversion to passive use, portions of the golf course may also be used for the expansion of the botanical gardens.

The wading pool was closed permanently following the conclusion of the 2013 season.[13]

The city hired multinational design corporation Stantec and Line + Grade to construct a skate park concept and Baltimore-based Mahan-Rykiel to design the park plan. [6] The skate park and the pedestrian bridge were officially opened on April 20, 2019. [14]

External links

McIntire Park on City website

References

  1. Web. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON PARK, City of Charlottesville, retrieved March 23, 2016.
  2. Web. Tennis Courts To Be Lighted at McIntire, Staff Reports, Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm, Lindsay family, August 9, 1940, retrieved August 9, 2016 from University of Virginia Library. Print. August 9, 1940 page 8.
  3. Web. Parkway interchange awaits result of federal lawsuit, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 26, 2012, retrieved February 28, 2012.
  4. Web. Judge Moon rules against Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park; Parkway Interchange to proceed, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, May 29, 2012, retrieved June 25, 2012.
  5. Web. Council briefed on city parks and recreation department plans, Sean Tubbs, News Article, Charlottesville Tomorrow, January 9, 2016, retrieved December 27, 2016.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Web. Public gives input on new McIntire Park design, Reuben Jones, Charlottesville Tomorrow, June 4, 2014, retrieved December 27, 2014.
  7. Web. Fitness group sues Albemarle and Charlottesville over YMCA, Charlottesville Tomorrow, May 13, 2010, retrieved January 12, 2011.
  8. Web. VA Supreme Court to hear YMCA case of fitness clubs vs. Albemarle, Brian Wheeler, Charlottesvillee Tomorrow, August 22, 2011, retrieved August 23, 2011.
  9. Web. Fundraising for McIntire Park civic memorial plaza approaches halfway point, Bryan McKenzie, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, December 15, 2019, retrieved December 23, 2019. Print. December 16, 2019 page A1.
  10. Web. Golf to leave McIntire sooner; Recreational fields still at issue, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, September 4, 2012, retrieved May 20, 2013.
  11. Web. McIntire Park Planning, official website, City of Charlottesville, retrieved 8 Dec 2011.
  12. Web. McIntire Park planning process continues, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 29, 2012, retrieved March 9, 2012.
  13. Web. A Community Guided Park Master Plan for McIntire Park East Side, Charlottesville Parks & Recreation, June 20, 2012, retrieved July 16, 2012.
  14. Web. Pedestrian railroad crossing in McIntire Park moving forward, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 26, 2017, retrieved December 27, 2017.