Curtis Booker, Daily Herald
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As spring officially sets in, residents in Pleasant Grove have a new outdoor space where they can enjoy recreational activities and family fun and create long-lasting memories.
Last Saturday, Pleasant Grove’s new 25-acre Cook Family Park opened to the public.
With the backdrop of “G Mountain “and Mount Timpanogos to the east, city officials and dozens of community members gathered for a “soft grand opening” of the park and to enjoy the amenities the new $20 million park has to offer.
“This is a great day for Pleasant Grove City,” said City Administrator Scott Darrington during the brief ceremony Saturday afternoon. “I thought we’d probably have about 10 or 15 people here that we would have to bring over for the ceremony, and then we were going to turn you loose. I admit I was caught off guard that we already have hundreds of people here, which is really a good sign.”
The city bought the 25-acre property over a decade ago with initial plans to expand the storm drain system and nearby cemetery and add some form of a small park.
The land sat vacant for many years, but after a $8 million donation from doTERRA founders Greg and Julie Cook, plans began to take shape for what would eventually become the Cook Family Park.
Greg and Julie Cook have been stewards of the Pleasant Grove community for nearly 30 years, raising all of their children while giving back to the city through charitable gestures.
The Cooks were involved in the multi-organization partnership to open the new Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater on the campus of doTERRA earlier this year.
“We hope that this park will be a place of gathering, a place of kindness, a place of connection, a place where everybody can just connect and be together and be uplifted,” Julie Cook said. “Because we believe that that is what will make for a stronger community.”
The city took out a $12 million bond for the remainder of the funding for the park.
The park includes a playground, pump track, skate park, basketball courts and an area for futsal, which are all currently open for use.
Construction continues on other features such as a 10,000-square-foot splash pad, soccer fields, a pavilion, storm drain basins and, in true Pleasant Grove fashion, a viking ship.
Located at 800 North and 600 West, the park sits at the former site of a pipe manufacturing plant.
That building was destroyed after a fire ripped through the structure in 2009, the Deseret News reported at the time.
Sixteen years later, the land now serves a different purpose in the community.
Greg Cook expressed excitement about the park and shared a story of witnessing a father cheering his daughter on for successfully making it up a slide on the playground as an example of how it will be put to good use by the community.
“And it’s those little small accomplishments for kids at that age we’re hoping that, as we think about the future of this park and the impact that it’ll have… (that) it’ll just build a lot of character,” said Greg Cook, who also founded the Cook Center for Human Connection.
Themes of kindness and different animal sculptures can also be spotted throughout the park.
The Cook Family is sponsoring a storytelling competition in an effort to bring the animals to life with names, stories and attributes that aim to educate children on the community’s aspiring values.
The competition is open now through April 18. The grand prize winner will receive $2,500; cash prizes for the second- and third-place winners will also be awarded.
Entries may be considered for a future children’s book.
City representatives said an official grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration will be held on Saturday, June 7, when the remaining features of the Cook Family Park will open to the public.
“What a beautiful park and it’s not finished yet, so hold onto your shorts, because it’s going to be great when it’s completely done,” Mayor Guy Fugal said during Saturday’s ceremony.