York County’s massive new park sets opening plans as board makes entrance deal

York County Council agreed to pay a Lexington company more than $5.5 million to build an entrance and infrastructure that will help open Catawba Bend Preserve park to the public.

The Council’s decision Monday night means the 1,900-acre park should open roughly a year from now, said county spokesman Greg Suskin. The county will pay Wiley Easton Construction Co. to build a new entrance drive, restrooms, parking, fee station and entry gate. Landscaping and dam repair also are included.

“This is the minimum of what’s needed for the park to open,” Suskin said.

York County bought 1,900 acres on the Rock Hill side of the Catawba River in late 2018 for $21 million. It includes almost five miles of river frontage.

Predominately forest, wetlands and meadows, the site off Neely Store Road isn’t far from the Catawba Indian Nation.

York County aims to ‘dream big,’ buy $21M, 1,900-acre greenway site on Catawba River

A park master plan approved by the county almost three years ago projected it would take $52.6 million to build Catawba Bend in three phases over 15 years. Between that cost and the purchase price, the approximate total cost for the project is $74 million.

Catawba Bend would be one of 10 county-maintained parks.

The master plan shows large event areas, mountain biking space, luxury and primitive camping, river access, picnicking, a dog park and other possible features. An extensive trail network runs throughout all of them.

The Council directed county staff Monday night to apply for a state recreation grant to build a disc golf course at Catawba Bend. There are grant requests for mountain bike trails too, Suskin said.

The county should find out this fall if it gets those grants, he said.

“As this park is a multi-decade build out, some of what’s in the master plan will be years down the road,” Suskin said. “Our goal now is to get the park open and let people see and experience this amazing property as soon as we can.”

Want a say in how York County parks grow?

The county has a public meeting on parks at 6:30 p.m. on July 25.

It’s at the county government center at 6 S. Congress St. in York. Residents can discuss existing parks and features, or suggest ideas for improvements.