Representatives from the Pack Square Conservancy came before the Buncombe County Commissioners Tuesday requesting approval of changes to the design and budget of the park that will be in front of city hall and the court house. The area has become an infamous dirt pile that has aggravated persons trying to drive downtown and merchants eating its dust since 2005. Citizens were further angered that costs had escalated from $3-6 million to $20 million.

What started as a desire to make a park since a chunk of downtown had to be torn up to fix a leaking water main took on a life of its own after twenty-four public charettes. The project got bogged down by the recent cost escalations of building materials, but it had other reasons to be off-time and over-budget. One was the interesting underground archaeological features. In the process of grading, underground lavatories were discovered and removed as well as staircases under sidewalks and things unknown. Some roads were paved with 20” of asphalt.

Worse than the physical obstacles were the regulatory ones. Early on, the conservancy accepted a federal grant in the amount of $3.89 million, not realizing that strings would be attached. Those strings included two architectural surveys totaling $237,000. In a great article, February’s Landscape and Hardscape Construction Magazine summarized the demolition crew’s sentiments:

The most challenging part of all the demolition work and installation of sidewalks, parking lots, drainage systems and more was working with the city and state bureaucracy. Although the park project is funded and managed by the conservancy, it is subject to government regulations due to the federal grant.

Oh, and stimulus. The conservancy people told the commissioners they are applying for any and all kinds of stimulus.