Google Maps
The corner of A. W. Willis and Island Drive, the proposed site for a new dog park.
City officials hope to open a new dog park on Mud Island and to expand Spanish War Memorial Park in Midtown.
Memphis City Council members will review both plans during committee meetings at Memphis City Hall on Tuesday.
The idea for a dog park on Mud Island was first floated back in 2013 by then-council-member Lee Harris, who is now a state senator. At the time, the park was projected to cost about $100,000.
However, on Tuesday, council members will consider spending more than $475,000 for Mud Island Dog Park after receiving two bids for the project in February.
City documents give few details on the park itself. A construction bid notice in January said the park is to be built at the corner of Island Drive and AW Willis Bridge.
Flickr/Joe Spake
The statue at Spanish War Memorial Park in Midtown.
The council will also consider a move to expand Spanish War Memorial Park, which is close to Cooper-Young at the corner of East Parkway and Central. To do it, the city would buy 1.4 acres of adjacent land from Union Pacific Railroad (UPR).
The railroad appraised the property at $230,000. City appraisers said it was worth $150,000. The two negotiated a finally buying price of $170,000, according to city documents.
The strip of land is already used as a makeshift entrance to the park. Though, the trail through the wooded area is unfinished, usually unkempt, and sometimes overgrown.
City documents don’t give any details about how the city would use the land or how it would change the park.
A call to city hall for details on both projects was not immediately answered.
