Residents eager for new facility to open

Cornerstone Park hasn’t officially opened yet, but that hasn’t stopped Hender­son resident Terrell Chandler and others from using it.

Chandler, a 42-year-old construction worker, said he visits the park about four times a week to run or walk around its distinguishing feature: a 30-acre lake. No one seems to mind, as long as he enters on foot.

He said he can’t wait for the park’s official unveiling, scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 15, because “there ain’t too much going on in the neighborhood.”

“I want to come down and barbecue, enjoy it, see what it has to offer,” Chandler said on a recent morning at the park.

While Chandler yearns for more activity, he said he loves the neighborhood around Wigwam Parkway and Stephanie Street. “I love the quiet,” he said.

Chandler moved to the area in January to escape the cold Minnesota winters.

Henderson officials initially scheduled a grand opening ceremony for Cornerstone Park on Oct. 6, but they had to postpone it after heavy August rains caused unexpected construction delays.

Officials proceeded with plans to hold the Southern Nevada Trails Day Celebration at the park that day, however. They also held the annual Bark in the Park event there on March 2.

After each event, they closed the park and allowed construction to resume.

“We’re working with a living lake, so that itself has made the construction much more complex,” said Trish Ayala, park project manager.

Residents are certainly anxious for the park to open.

Recently, officials removed the entrance barriers to give the Review-Journal a tour of the park. Kim Becker, spokeswoman for the Henderson Parks and Recreation Department, soon found herself apologizing to visitors as she turned them away.

One family showed up with an ice chest. A woman with a boy, who was riding a bicycle, headed off on a paved trail. And a couple walked toward the lake with their dog.

That’s just how park officials envision the area being used — just not yet.

“The concern is we just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Becker explained.

The city has no shortage of parks. It boasts that every resident lives within a mile of one.

Henderson has 56 neighborhood and community parks, 11 aquatic facilities, and eight recreation centers.

Cornerstone, at 1600 Wigwam Parkway, will be park No. 57. It was funded with $16.4 million generated through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.

The act, which became law in 1998, allows the Bureau of Land Management to sell public land within a specific boundary around Las Vegas. Some of the revenue derived from land sales is set aside for parks, trails and other natural areas.

According to information provided by Becker, the city of Henderson has received more than $238 million for projects through those land sales.

Planning for Cornerstone Park, which sits on an old gravel pit, began even before the funding was acquired in 2005. About 60 acres of the 100-acre park have been developed during the first phase of construction.

Years ago, water found on and around the old pit regularly showed significant concentrations of perchlorate, a common rocket fuel ingredient that was once manufactured in Henderson.

While perchlorate no longer poses a risk, several different storm channels empty into the body of water.

After a rainstorm, oil and other pollutants are washed from the streets into the lake, essentially turning it into gutter water.

“We don’t control the water quality at all,” Ayala said.

For that reason, no swimming, fishing or even remote-controlled boats will be permitted in the lake, which also is fed by an underground aquifer. Marshland makes up about a third of the lake.

Officials chose not to put a fence around the lake, instead opting for natural barriers such as vegetation and a rocky beach.

“We actually encourage people to get close to, but not in” the lake, Ayala said.

A soft surface trail allows people to run or walk around the lake, while a paved trail, which circles the lake at a higher level, is perfect for bike riding or roller skating. Each trail is about a mile long.

Chandler said it took him 21 minutes to do a fast walk around the lake.

Ayala said park officials identified three user groups during public planning meetings: corporate users, those who want to use the park’s paved trail, and those — such as bird watchers — who want to get close to the water.

“The way this was designed was so that each user group could use it in­dependently,” Ayala said.

Stairs leading from Wigwam Parkway to the lake are designed to serve as an exercise element. Chandler said his roommate likes to run on the steps when she visits the park.

The park has two shaded pavilions with a full catering kitchen that can be rented for large events such as weddings or corporate picnics. On one side of the pavilions is an open turf area, and on the other are basketball and volleyball courts.

Five individual, shaded picnic areas with barbecues overlook the lake on its west side, near the open turf area. Becker said they are her favorite park element.

The two sides of the lake are connected by a large piece of artwork called “Surface Tension,” which consists of two rows of red, metal pylons sticking out of the water.

Officials plan to add playground equipment and a dog park if they can acquire funding for future phases of Cornerstone Park’s construction.

The park was constructed by North Las Vegas-based APCO Construction. The master plan landscape architect was Edge Industries.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.