8.25 more acres of recreating space in the heart of Lexington.

That’s exactly what the town is about to gain, as the project to expand and improve Virginia Hylton Park will start after a groundbreaking ceremony held Aug. 23.

The 6.5-acre park will grow to 14.25 acres, with the project set to be complete by September 2023 at a cost of $7 million, Lexington Town Administrator Britt Poole told the Chronicle.

Like other recent quality of life projects in town — the installation of the Icehouse Amphitheater, the restoration and enhancement of Gibson Pond Park — Poole said the expansion of the park is part of an emphasis on placemaking that is increasingly important in municipalities like Lexington.

“We've shown that those types of investments have a real return,” he said of the impact efforts like the amphitheater have had in the downtown area, recalling how Main Street, now increasingly bustling, lacked many of the restaurants and other businesses that have cropped up in the last 10 years.

“This is not only an investment in the quality of life of the citizens, which is reason enough to do it. Full stop,” Poole continued. “But above and beyond that, there are real economic returns.”

Big among the additions to the expanded park is a second, smaller amphitheater downtown, one Poole said could be used by the town or rented to promoters on its own — or used in concert with the Icehouse Amphitheater and other downtown spaces to possibly put on something bigger.

“Maybe sometimes those will be in collaboration with other shows at the larger amphitheater, as well as, we have the ability to put a stage at the Lexington Square,” he said of the plaza that adjoins the county courthouse. “And so we hope to be able to have some weekend-type music festivals around the general thing and be able to use those three venues right in downtown to [get people to] come and visit our local restaurants and just enjoy downtown.”

The expanded park will also include a paved walking trail and an improved special needs playground area, which Poole said he hopes will bring in even more families to the park.

“We've long had a separate playground for those children that are differently abled than other children. And it is almost never used. You almost never see anybody on that playground,” the town administrator said, explaining that while this was the standard method of building playgrounds to be inclusive of children with different abilities, that standard has moved toward building playgrounds that are accessible to all, which the new park design does.

“This park is bringing together play areas that everybody can use regardless of their abilities,” Poole said. “So, you know, maybe we can finally see the park used for what it was intended for, which is all children.”

At the groundbreaking, Mayor Steve MacDougall teased other “secret” upgrades that will be revealed as the park takes shape.

Poole said the town has no concerns about the added space in the park creating any safety issues, especially as it is located directly behind the town municipal complex and police department, but he did emphasize that the town takes ensuring the safety of such recreation spaces seriously.

“Our experience has shown that the vast majority of people that come to the park come for exactly the reasons that the park is there and not for some negative reason,” he said.

Poole said disruptions to the town during construction of the park expansion should be minimal. While the park will be closed during much of the process, no road closures are anticipated. Sections of the parking lot at the town municipal complex, utilized by many for public parking downtown, will be closed off at the beginning and end of the project.

MacDougall and Poole both emphasized the leadership of Mayor Pro-Tem Hazel Livingston in heading the committee that shaped the park expansion.

“This has been going on for about 12 years, working on this coming into life,” Livingston said at the groundbreaking. “It's been a long time coming.”

The mayor echoed that sentiment.

“The park hasn’t been updated since it first opened 31 years ago, so this project is something we’re really excited about,” Mayor Steve MacDougall told the Chronicle. “Once the renovation and expansion is complete, Virginia Hylton Park will continue to be a place for families to gather and make memories for generations to come.”