Groundbreaking Held for “Green” Park with Nature Center in Garner, North Carolina

Garner, NC, October 02, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Town of Garner Board of Aldermen, distinguished guests, town staff and members of the construction and design team broke ground Tuesday, September 30, on a 96-acre park at 2400 Aversboro Road. White Deer Park, named for an albino deer that roamed the area, will feature a L.E.E.D. (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certified nature center, a natural and unique playground, and picnic shelters. Many of the park structures will feature material reused from a 1930’s homestead located on the property.

“White Deer Park is the Town’s first natural area/environmental classroom with a nature center, outdoor classrooms, walking and biking trails, and picnic facilities. This is a great addition to the park system and will provide long-lasting health and educational benefits to our community,” said Town of Garner Mayor, Ronnie Williams.

Geo. Raper & Son, Inc (GR&S, Inc.), the general contractor selected for the project, will create a park that is sensitive to the environment, preserves the wildlife habitat, and provides educational opportunities. They will also build half a mile of greenways on adjacent property, creating walking access to White Deer Park and Lake Benson Park from Timber Drive. Eventually, the greenways will connect to Lake Wheeler Park and the Raleigh greenway system.

The most unique feature of the park is a “green” nature center. GR&S, Inc. will use environmentally friendly building techniques and materials in creating the educational center. “As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, we are very excited to join a team of talented design professionals and dedicated town leaders for the development of a top quality Nature Center for the Town of Garner,” said Steve Raper, vice president of GR&S, Inc.

The project team will work to achieve a U.S. Green Building Council Silver L.E.E.D. Rating for the 2,500 square-foot nature center. In Wake County, there are four L.E.E.D.-rated municipal buildings and only 20 rated municipal buildings in North Carolina. Some of the “green” features in the nature center will include low impact development, use of local materials, water conservation and rainwater collection, natural heating and cooling. The center will feature classrooms and nature exhibits. The white deer, for which the park is named, will be permanently located at the entrance to the center.

About the project

White Deer Park is a 96-acre nature park located on Buffaloe and Aversboro Roads in Garner that is slated to be open summer 2009. In addition to the nature center, the Park will feature 2.5 miles of paved walking trails, five picnic shelters, two new playgrounds, wildflower meadows and an arboretum. The design and development team for the park includes Town of Garner staff, obs Landscape Architects, Cherry Huffman Architects, Design Dimension, GR&S, Inc., Stewart Engineering and Consider Design.

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