AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - The Auburn City council approved the purchase a land for recreational use for nearly $4 million.
The council authorized the purchase of 159.58 acres during a meeting this week, the Opelika-Auburn News (https://bit.ly/2lvVqLQ) reported. The land is part of a 272.11-acre parcel along Richland Road first purchased by the Auburn City Board of Education in July $6.8 million or $25,000 per acre.
The city will purchase the land for $3,989,500.
Mayor Bill Ham and councilmembers Ron Anders, Lynda Tremaine and Beth Witten toured the property on Feb. 14.
“This will truly make a difference for generations and generations to come,” Ham said.
The city’s Parks, Culture and Recreation Master Plan is underway, and the property is being reviewed for development. The plan will be completed in April or May, but the city has received preliminary recommendations for new recreational spaces, according to Becky Richardson, parks and recreation director.
Conceptual plans were drafted by the city to help staff and council members visually understand the layout of the property before the tour on Tuesday. The land could contain ball fields, walking trails, various uses for the lake and a recreation center.
“The things that are starting to come out of the comments and things in the master plan meetings were more passive parks, more trails, more need for athletic facilities.various other things that could be accommodated in a recreation center, so there’s space out here to do all of those if we needed to,” Richardson said.
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