Wood River Plans $1M City Center Park

Wood River City Council Meeting

WOOD RIVER – A new park with a stage, pavilion, and more may be coming to downtown Wood River.

City Manager Steve Palen announced plans for a future “City Center Park” at the March 2, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting.

Palen said the park would be built on the former site of the Brown Tire & Automotive Center at the intersection of Ferguson Avenue and 1st Street. He said the park design features several amenities, including a stage, pavilion, an open greenspace area, and outdoor seating.

Four unisex restrooms would be built within two shipping containers at the site, as seen in the park’s draft design concept. The park would also include a series of sidewalks designed to mimic the meeting point of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, illuminated by a system of string lights.

Palen said the city is also working to secure the park’s “signature” piece, a clock tower built in the shape of an oil derrick. This or some other form of public art would be installed in the park’s southwest corner.

$300,000 has already been budgeted for the park’s construction, which Palen said will be used to order the pavilion and stage structures, which will take 12-16 weeks to be delivered. Current cost estimates show the pavilion is expected to cost $170,000, while the stage is estimated at $40,000, for a total of $210,000.

The total cost to develop City Center Park could range from $1.2 million to $1.4 million, depending on the material used for the greenspace area, which could be seeded grass or artificial turf.

A full recording of the March 2, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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