Blair Construction Inc. in Gretna can begin building it any time and will likely start after the holidays, said Danville Parks and Recreation Director Bill Sgrinia.
The splash pad will be located at Third Avenue and Rocklawn Place off North Main Street and open for next year’s warmer weather, Sgrinia said.
“We expect the project to have a 150-day time frame to be completed,” Sgrinia said Tuesday.
The 3,800-square-foot splash pad will be made of concrete with an acrylic finish on top for a non-slip surface, he said.
It will boast 15 water features including water shooting up from the deck and water-sprayers, as well. They will likely be motion-activated or triggered by a push-button mechanism, Sgrinia said.
“When there’s nobody there, they won’t be running,” he said.
The splash pads will also include a timer system, he said.
Other amenities at the site of the pad will include a small playground, spaces around it for community use, parking lot and restrooms, Sgrinia said.
Though no time span has been set for when the splash pad would be in operation, it would likely be open May through September, Sgrinia said.
A second splash pad in the city at Doyle Thomas Park is also in the works, with a third hoped for at Ballou Park, as well. Bids for the Doyle Thomas Park project are due Dec. 20. Sgrinia said he hoped to put the Ballou Park project out for bid the middle of the winter.
Features such as splash pads play a role in enhancing neighborhoods, Sgrinia said.
“It’s part of reinvesting in neighborhoods and they add to the quality of life to anything that’s around them,” he said.
The splash pad projects have been in the works in the city for at least a year and a half.
Danville officials have also chosen Blair Constriction for the long-awaited Riverfront Park project. Blairs was chosen over Bar Construction Co. Inc. in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the park.
The Riverfront Park project is $12.68 million, with construction expected to start sometime this winter, Sgrinia said.
Bar had also submitted a proposal for the Third Avenue splash pad.
Plans for a riverfront park were first announced in 2016.
The park will be built on about 4 acres at Main Street and Memorial Drive between the White Mill site and King Memorial Bridge.
It will include a street-level entrance on its southeast side — from Main Street and Memorial Drive — with an “artistic feature” to lure visitors. Those entering the park would then step down to a water feature — an interactive fountain and spray pad.
That area drops down about 10 feet and leads to a circular lawn. Open green space makes up a large portion of the park, which also would feature a staging area that could be used for small performance events. There would be an elevated walkway/viewing pier stretching about 20 to 25 feet above the park and part of the Dan River.
In the northern portion of the park close to the river, the Riverwalk Trail would snake across the park, bordered by green space. The trail would be 20 feet wide. A step-down terrace would lead to the river’s edge.
A small children’s play area would be at the western side of the park.