A former Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Athens, Alabama, will become a city park that includes a splash pad and playground.
According to a press release on the city’s Facebook page, Pilgrim’s Pride closed the plant, located on a 32-acre tract of land, in 2009.
After what the city referred to as years of negotiations, Athens officials reached an agreement with Pilgrim’s to purchase the property. In 2019, the city council voted 3-2 to hire a design firm to draw up plans for the land to convert it to a park.
Since that time, the city has removed asbestos, dilapidated buildings and holding ponds from the property, has conducted an inspection of bridges and has sowed the 32 acres with grass.
The park will be known as Sunrise Park. The city’s goal is to have the park open by the spring of 2024.
“We had a dangerous eyesore in the middle of our city that will become a destination spot for families and tourists, and an asset for Athens,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said.
The city allocated $1 million from the surplus of its 2021 general fund for the park project. It also received a grant of $250,000 from the Dekko Foundation, a foundation that invests in projects that help youth up to the age of 18 to build skills, knowledge and character to become successful adults.
Others contributing to the case were the Limestone County Legislative Delegation and the Athens Ladies Civitan, which donated $28,967.50 and $2,500, respectively. Local developers also donated about 20,000 cubic yards of dirt, valued at $1.08 million.
Once the park is operational, the city intends to add more features. Among those are a dog park, amphitheater, green space and a food truck area. There are also hopes to use some of the land for housing and business development.
According to an earlier report on WATTPoultry.com, Pilgrim’s Pride’s decision to close the plant, and other facilities, came after the company filed for reorganization bankruptcy.
