Gatton Park is Now Open!
We’re still pinching ourselves that Gatton Park is officially open! Over a five year design and construction process, more than 16,000 voices from all over the Bluegrass region helped to ground a vision for a world-class community gathering space reflective of Lexington’s unique character and spirit. Last Saturday thousands of Lexingtonians cheered on the ribbon cutting and then immediately flooded the park to begin making memories. Food trucks, music, dancing, acrobats, face painting kept up a lively rhythm, but for us, the true magic was in witnessing the first intimate moments of connection with the new park. Where once there was just an expanse of asphalt paving, the future holds endless shrieks of joy on the playground, giggles and splashes at the waterscape, barking dogs, quiet conversations among neighbors, music performances, the clink of glasses in cheers and much more!
Agency’s Kate Tooke has led the design and implementation of the park (first as a principal at Sasaki and for the past three years at Agency) alongside collaborators at Sasaki, the Gatton Park team and a deep bench of subconsultants, including Strand Engineering, Rabun Architects, Carman, EHI, HLB, Olsson, the Fountain People, and EarthscapePlay, Theatre Projects, and Agora Partners. The incredible team at Dean Builds and Elaine Allen built the dream!
Congratulations to Allison Lankford and the Gatton Park team who blasted through the ceiling of every fundraising goal to bring the park vision to life and now bring powerful leadership to the long term programming and stewardship of the park. We can’t wait to see the park evolve in your hands!