Clarksville officials have finalized the $350,000 purchase of Ashland Park along the Ohio River, part of the plans to improve and develop South Clarksville.
The town previously leased the 18-acre park, which runs from the intersection of West Market Street and Riverside Drive to the L & I Railroad Bridge, from the Marathon Oil Corporation, according to a news release.
Town officials have worked to redevelop the area for years, including the ongoing build-out of a new downtown area and upcoming renovations to the Riverside Drive corridor.
“The whole purpose of creating that new downtown was to make South Clarksville a livable, walkable community,” Clarksville Communications Director Ken Conklin said. “And you have to have somewhere to walk to. One of those places would be Ashland Park.”
The park connects to the Ohio River Greenway, a recreational trail that runs along the river in Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany.
“It kind of connects us all together,” Conklin said. “Ashland Park is also a beautiful park with one of the best views of the Louisville skyline that you could ever find in Southern Indiana. So we really need to take advantage of that.”
Officials are working to secure grant funding for a new accessible playground, one of the first projects in the park.
“With all the additions going on in South Clarksville, that's going to mean a lot more residents wanting to use that park,” Conklin said. “So it's definitely going to be a point of investment for the town.”
The Riverside Drive renovations — which will include improved roadways, lighting and sidewalks — are expected to start in spring after Thunder Over Louisville and cost around $7 million.
