Big vision laid out for small park at the gateway to Lewes

The park many consider to be the gateway to Lewes is getting new attention, as several projects aim to transform the area around the Lewes Public Library. 

The Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission discussed a vision plan for Stango Park at its Sept. 18 meeting. The plan was commissioned in 2018, but has never been reviewed by the commission as a whole.

“There are many moving parts, and the vision plan gives us a basis for how we design the park in the future,” said Commissioner Christine Besche, who introduced a sketch of what the area might look like with new trees, meadows and buffers. Besche oversees Stango Park for the commission.

Stango Park is a 6-acre parcel with entrances on Kings Highway and Monroe Avenue. It was originally conceived as Lewes’ arboretum.

Besche said the objective of the vision plan is to create a campus atmosphere, expand the arboretum concept and connect it to the Lewes Public Library, trailhead and pavilion area, known as Stango Park Extended.

There are at least a dozen stakeholders who have interests in the property, including the parks and recreation commission, the city, the library, the Delaware Department of Transportation, Lewes in Bloom and the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association.

Some of the groups and organizations have plans for plantings and artwork in the park. The LJRBA wants to add a locomotive and railroad artifacts to the red caboose already in place.

“It’s important as we plan, and the stakeholders plan, that we’re keeping those lines of communication open so each entity knows what the other entities are considering,” said commission chair and Parks and Marina Manager Janet Reeves.

There is already a lot going on in the small space.

The Library Arts Project is currently building a replica train station between the library and the railroad track. The library has finalized plans for an outdoor pavilion on its property.

The parks and rec plan includes rebuilding the concert stage behind the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center to better face the park.

The five-lot Virden subdivision is also being built on the western edge of Stango Park.

“This is a great launching for discussion of long-term and short-term planning,” Reeves said of the vision plan. 

She charged commissioners with considering how all the new development coming to Lewes will impact the infrastructure, not just in Stango Park, but in all city parks.

The meeting was the first for newly appointed Commissioners Mark Shue and Trina Brown Hicks. They are both responsible for George H.P. Smith Park and Otis Smith Park.