City council approves updated design for second Glazier-Gates park

A new park is one step closer to becoming reality in Bradenton.

Planners from Kimley-Horn went back to the drawing board after requests for modifications to the proposed design for the Glazier Gates II Park. They brought back updated designs to Bradenton City Council members Wednesday.

The park will be located across from the Preserve at Riverwalk apartments, along Third Avenue East.

City councilmen gave their final approval of the updated site planwith a 4-0, with Councilman Gene Brown absent from the meeting. The city now will seek bids for the project.

The theme for the park is open space with three areas designated as such. One larger turf open space is designated for passive recreation on the west side of the park with a shade structure near a pathway that cuts the park nearly in half north to south.

On the East side of the walkway, a smaller open turf space is shown in the northeast corner of the park, along with an artificial turf open space, play mounding, play equipment and a shade structure.

One of the bigger changes, designers noted, was a vegetation buffer planned for the northern perimeter of the park to put some space between the park and the existing residences.

In the center south area of the park, designers allowed for a shaded picnic seating advanced to parallel parking on Third Avenue East.

Designers at Kimley-Horn also noted the park will feature exercise equipment and bike racks.

There will also be a sidewalk connection from Glazier-Gates II to the the Riverwalk expansion.

Across the street, behind the Preserve at Riverwalk, is an exiting playground, known as a “tot-park” for smaller children that opened in March. This playground featured a new artificial flooring instead of the traditional mulch or sand.

Mayor Wayne Poston noted during Wednesday’s meeting he wanted playgrounds for older and younger kids separated.

Ezekiel Glazier, one of two early Manatee County pioneers for which the park is named, had a homestead on the site of the old Glazier-Gates Park. The land still belongs to the city and will become part of the new Glazier-Gates Park.

The Preserve’s developer paid the city about $650,000 for the playground equipment and improvements at Mineral Springs.

This story was originally published June 14, 2019 at 6:00 AM.