About a decade ago, the City of Greensboro gave Guilford County the city’s ownership stake in Bryan Park North – half of the park ownership – and now Guilford County is planning on giving that share back to the city.
At the Thursday, Nov. 7 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the county is expected to make the move. Officially, it will be a “reconveyance of 50 percent of the undivided ownership in the Bryan Park North to the City of Greensboro.”
In August 1998, the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation gave about 530 acres of land to the City of Greensboro and Guilford County jointly so that the land could be developed as a park or as open space. However, that area now known as Bryan Park North hasn’t been developed over the two decades, but the commissioners and county parks officials are hoping this move will change that.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Alan Branson said that by giving the city back its original half ownership share, the two local governments can finally get some action going at the 500-plus acre area that’s currently being underutilized.
“Hopefully, between the two, we can get a master plan off the ground,” Branson said this week. “The Bryan Foundation would like to see something happen as far as developing a park.”
Branson added that putting in soccer fields or lacrosse fields, for instance, could lead to more weekend tournaments in Guilford County and could get “heads in beds” –as Branson and local tourism officials like to say.
In a memo to the commissioners on the matter, Guilford County Manager Marty Lawing noted that a master plan for development of the property was prepared years ago, but “no significant development has occurred primarily due to the lack of funding.”
Lawing added that Greensboro now has some potential funding for the project and the city has therefore requested the reconveyance to justify investing in park development on the property.
