City of Columbia Breaks Ground on Finlay Park

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Finlay Park, known as the crown jewel plans to revitalize the park within the next two years.

City council members and city officials congregated together on Thursday as they broke ground on the revitalization of Finlay Park.

Revitalization and construction of the 18-acre property will update original iconic features within the park while incorporating community-driven goals in the new construction.

Brian Johnston, Vice President of Mashburn Construction says that the park will bring back the connectivity piece that the park was missing.

“This is really a modernization of the park and it’s gonna bring back the connectivity of Finlay Park to make it the Crown Jewel that it’s meant to be. It has some very impressive structures that kind of tie the park together,” said Johnston.

A major concern for the urban park has been the drawing of the homeless making the park their home. Former South Carolina Representative Kirkman Finlay, III., said the city has plans to deal with the issue.

“I think the city has some excellent plans to get working on consolidated services, but it’s an issue that has to be dealt with,” Finlay said. “We’ve gotta be in front of this, not behind to figure out how to help everybody.”

Some of the goals include repairing the iconic fountain, improving the connectivity of ponds, new supporting facilities and amenities including an event stage and lawn, parking modifications and increasing safety and visibility with emergency 911 poles and cameras across the park

Finlay said that the vision for the park is to make it a centerpiece not only for the city but for the state.

" I think it’s going to be a magnificent park. Hopefully with investments not just from the city because keeping this park up is going to be $2 million dollars a year. The city, the county, and the state can be involved in making this a centerpiece for the state,” said Finlay.

The city plans to open the park to the public in Fall 2025.

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