Canton City Manager Billy Peppers, council members Will Carlan and Sandy McGrew, Cherokee Impact Soccer Executive Director Shane Moore, Councilman Shawn Tolan, City Engineer Bethany Watson, Mayor Bill Grant, council members Joellen Wilson and Dwayne Waterman, Rich Rohrer of Atkins Engineering, and Tyler Mathis and Joe Wilson of Tri Scapes break ground on the Harmon Park renovation.
Youth in the Cherokee Impact Soccer program stand with Canton officials and representatives of Atkins Engineering and Tri Scapes to mark the groundbreaking of the Harmon Park renovation project.
Zachary Harkins, 4, from Woodstock, climbs out of a Canton Police Department car with a disc given to him by an officer.
Members of Cherokee Impact Soccer played games at Harmon Park after the groundbreaking.
Canton Mayor Bill Grant discusses the Harmon Park renovation.
Canton City Councilman Shawn Tolan thanks officials and partners for their support of the Harmon Park upgrades.
Canton City Manager Billy Peppers, council members Will Carlan and Sandy McGrew, Cherokee Impact Soccer Executive Director Shane Moore, Councilman Shawn Tolan, City Engineer Bethany Watson, Mayor Bill Grant, council members Joellen Wilson and Dwayne Waterman, Rich Rohrer of Atkins Engineering, and Tyler Mathis and Joe Wilson of Tri Scapes.
Canton City Manager Billy Peppers, council members Will Carlan and Sandy McGrew, Cherokee Impact Soccer Executive Director Shane Moore, Councilman Shawn Tolan, City Engineer Bethany Watson, Mayor Bill Grant, council members Joellen Wilson and Dwayne Waterman, Rich Rohrer of Atkins Engineering, and Tyler Mathis and Joe Wilson of Tri Scapes break ground on the Harmon Park renovation.
Youth in the Cherokee Impact Soccer program stand with Canton officials and representatives of Atkins Engineering and Tri Scapes to mark the groundbreaking of the Harmon Park renovation project.
Zachary Harkins, 4, from Woodstock, climbs out of a Canton Police Department car with a disc given to him by an officer.
Members of Cherokee Impact Soccer played games at Harmon Park after the groundbreaking.
Canton Mayor Bill Grant discusses the Harmon Park renovation.
Canton City Councilman Shawn Tolan thanks officials and partners for their support of the Harmon Park upgrades.
Canton City Manager Billy Peppers, council members Will Carlan and Sandy McGrew, Cherokee Impact Soccer Executive Director Shane Moore, Councilman Shawn Tolan, City Engineer Bethany Watson, Mayor Bill Grant, council members Joellen Wilson and Dwayne Waterman, Rich Rohrer of Atkins Engineering, and Tyler Mathis and Joe Wilson of Tri Scapes.
Canton leaders, local officials, representatives from Cherokee Impact Soccer and Canton Dizzy Dean, and community members broke ground recently to kick off the renovation to Harmon Park in the Sunnyside community
The $4.3 million project is expected to take approximately one year to complete, according to the city.
“Today’s groundbreaking celebration of our renovation and additions to Harmon Park marks a significant milestone in Canton’s efforts to revitalize the historic Sunnyside community and fulfills several of the primary goals of our Roadmap for Success,” Mayor Bill Grant said in a statement. “As one of our oldest City parks, Harmon has not been updated or brought up to the standards of excellence of our newer green spaces. Our significant investment in a complete renovation to the Park indicates our long-term commitment to elevating the quality of life for every resident in our great city.”
Local Initiatives Support Corporation as part of the GA 100 Initiative along with Atlanta United Foundation, approved a $75,000 grant, awarded to the Cherokee Youth Foundation, with the city of Canton as partner. The foundation obtained the grant to purchase and install a synthetic turf mini-pitch soccer field at the park.
Upon award of the grant and project commencement, the city decided to further improve the park. Atkins Engineering completed the field work and survey as part of the next phase of upgrades. The city received a land donation from Bill Kent to the north of the property, officials said, and acquired two properties on the south side for the expansion of the park. Tri Scapes was awarded the bid to complete the construction of the mini-pitch soccer field, as well as a new pavilion, resurfaced basketball court, new batting cages, baseball field upgrades, connecting sidewalks, a continuous park drive, and additional parking.
The City of Canton initially received the Community Development Block Grant allocation to make improvements to Harmon Park in 2020-21. Cherokee County is an entitlement community and receives an annual allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development based on the population and poverty level; the annual allocation averages around $1.2 million.
“We believe projects such as this one are vital to the community to ensure that low-income neighborhoods have access to safe and decent community amenities to create suitable living environments,” said Laura Calfee, Cherokee County CDBG Grant Manager. “The project provides an option to individuals and families with limited transportation as well, and research has shown that parks increase home values. Keeping Harmon Park usable and functional will benefit the neighborhood and the families and individuals who use them.”
With the CDBG grant, the city was able to update field lighting, replace all rotten/damaged wood, add new roofs on buildings and dugouts, and add stadium seating along with a new viewing deck. Curbing and mulch were installed around the playground area, and new garbage cans, benches, and picnic tables were placed throughout the park.
Long-term goals and future additions to the park will include public art installations by the Canton Cultural Arts Commission, riverside landscaping, and a bridge crossing and trail connection to Boling, Heritage, and Etowah River Parks.
“Harmon Park is a focus area for the City,” said Nathan Ingram, assistant city Manager. “The City aims to construct a re-imagined park that will offer a better overall experience for its citizens, be more inclusive and inviting to all groups, and be an integral part of the overall goal for an interconnected park/trail system throughout the City of Canton.”
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.
Buy a monthly subscription or pay yearly to get full access to all of our local news. Subscribers can also sign up for a trial offer of 99 cents per month for the first two months. After that, the rate will be $4.99 per month.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.