By Paige Gurgainers
The Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Commission (WPCVC) met to review the final master plan for Miller Quarters Park presented by Parish Line Architecture on Thursday, May 16.
Representatives with Parish Line went through the plan in sections that included lawn and trails, an amphitheater, playground area, dog park, pavilion, water features, storage, restrooms seating and three separate parking lots located at East Union, Gleason and Lee Street allowing access to the park from multiple directions.
“What we did like about the site, and this is going to play into the concept, is the various elevation changes,” said one representative. “I think the elevation changes have really opened up some great opportunities for us.”
This was encouraging news for the board and previous commissioner Tracy Campbell who was serving on the WPCVC in 2022 when the land was purchased. He said, “We went into this project looking at the elevation changes as possibly being a weakness and something we were going to have to overcome and now hearing that’s a strength of the project- that’s exciting.”
Another addition to the masterplan included a museum built from a remaining structure on the property memorializing the history of Miller Quarters, previously owned by Joe Miller, that once served the community by providing low-income housing to those in need.
The architects felt compelled to keep the material palette more simplified by tying it into the landscape. “We did want to mimic something more natural and tie into Louisiana architecture.” Most of the structures are shotgun or dogtrot inspired and will use materials such as bald cypress and raw steel.
Parish Line did keep in mind the original work previously completed by the Louisiana Tech School of Design students and incorporated some of those ideas into their concepts. “There are some things that will slightly differ, but we have tried to incorporate most of them,” they said.
An Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) was disclosed bringing the total cost of the Miller Quarters Park project to anywhere between $7.2M to 9.8M. Various grants were discussed among board members with private and public funding options being explored.
One architect explained to the board that this project could be a “potential goldmine for North Louisiana.” Next steps include a meeting between WPCVC board members and city officials to discuss infrastructure on the property before a public forum is scheduled. WPCVC Executive Director Serena Gray expressed her desire to hold this forum at the Minden Civic Center within 4-6 weeks. More details will be released soon.