Expansion planned for Fairview Park in South Fayette
South Fayette Township officials are making plans with what should be done with the extra space at Fairview Park after the commissioners approved a settlement agreement with Charter Homes and Aloe Brothers for $1.1 million and roughly $1,000 in tax reimbursements to obtain 69 acres of property next to the park.
According to Andrea Iglar, community development director, a portion of the space connecting Fairview Park to Mayview Road will be used to serve as the main entrance for the most-used park in the township.
Currently, the only entrance to the park is through a neighborhood off of Boyce Road.
“It’s going to be an amazing addition to have an entrance off of a main road,” Iglar said. “People won’t have to go through a neighborhood and can access it from that side of the township.”
The entrance, which is expected to be constructed once intersection work is completed on Mayview Road for the Hastings neighborhood development, will provide an easier traffic flow and provide relief to homeowners from the abundance of vehicles enter and exit the neighborhood to use the park’s facilities.
“It’s our largest park and a spot we really want to develop and have events in,” Iglar said. “Being able to have better traffic flow in and out of that facility is going to be great.”
Questions still remain as to what to do with the other acreage that has a steep hill, wooded and open areas and portions that still contain rubble from the former Mayview Hospital site.
Township officials are planning to update the parks master plan, which is 10 years old, to determine the best uses for the remainder of the space.
It also broke ground in September on three recreational fields for a new park off of Seminary Avenue, near Oakdale, to create more space for youth sports after the Watson Institute moved into the former El Rancho Park location. Those fields are expected to be ready later this year.
“We know that there is usable space at Fairview that can be used for park facilities,” Iglar said. “I don’t know how long it will take to see it come to fruition, but we are definitely going to put our efforts toward that.”