Parks department shares Holly Power Plant artwork timeline

This summer, the Holly Power Plant property will be transferred to the Parks and Recreation Department, and the department will begin work on phase one of the improvements planned there. Construction on the first phase is anticipated to be completed next summer. City Council has expressed an interest at seeing art on the site, and recently, Director Kimberly McNeeley sent a memo to Council and the mayor to provide them with some information on the department’s plans. She wrote that the the department has completed “a feasibility study to determine adaptive reuse options and associated costs for the two existing metal buildings.” The study resulted in cost estimates ranging from $82,000 on the lower end, for minimal development, to $2.7 million on the higher end, for “development of utility infrastructure.” Those options took the inclusion of art space into consideration, as well as access to the hike and bike trail and the lake views. McNeeley wrote that the department plans to evaluate the phase one improvements for one year after completion, and it will use that information to create the RFP to solicit proposals for the art component for the Holly site. Therefore, if all goes according to plan, the RFP should be released in summer 2020.