News

County wins $500,000 grant to upgrade East Flat Rock Park

By Bill Moss, Published: September 14, 2025

A $500,000 state grant will help Henderson County make major improvements to East Flat Rock Park, including a new ADA-compliant playground and other upgrades.

County Parks & Recreation Director Bruce Gilliam described the conceptual plans during a meeting of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2. Gilliam and his team applied for the state Parks & Recreation Trust Fund grant for the 2025 round of funding and finished near the top in the highly competitive hunt for park money.

“We were No. 2 out of a group of about 16 parks, so that’s a great thing,” he said. “This park is about 25 years old, so it needs some updates. We’re going to focus on implementing ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and universal design.”

Pointing to a photo on the screen of the “outdated playground,” he said, “We’re going to replace that playground. It’s the second most utilized park in the county.”

In addition to the playground, shelters, picnic tables and restrooms will be ADA accessible.

“And then around the walking trail, as you can see the lady sitting on the bench there with a person in a wheelchair,” he said, pointing to another photos. “We’re going to be able to complete that around the walking trail and around the playground” and make it ADA compliant.

The 21.4-acre park on Spartanburg Highway at East Blue Ridge Road contains a playground, walking trails, sports fields, disc golf and restrooms. Work should begin soon on designing the improvements.

“We sent the contracts back to the governor,” Gilliam said. “We’re waiting on him to sign them, get them back to us and then we can begin working there at the park.”

The East Flat Rock grant requires the county to pitch in $100,000.

The county rec department applied unsuccessfully for a PARTF grant for Berkeley Park, where the county is building soccer fields, tennis courts and softball diamond.