Contract signed on Pioneer Park project

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The final deal was sealed officially last week on the Virgin Valley Pioneer Park development planned for the city block directly across Mesquite Blvd. to the north of the City Hall building.

On Thursday afternoon, Sept. 9, Dixie Leavitt, the project’s visionary, met together with Mesquite Mayor Al Litman in the City Council Chambers. In front of a small audience of city staffers, Leavitt family members, project officials, City Council members, and local residents, the two men signed a final development agreement on the project.

“This is a landmark day for the downtown area of the City,” said Litman in a brief introductory statement. “I’m calling it pioneering with pride.”

Litman talked about the rugged determination of the first pioneer settlers of the Mesquite area as they worked to tame the desert valley into a home. The new Pioneer park would be a tribute to that heritage, Litman said.

Dixie Leavitt spent a few moments talking about his vision for the project. He said that it had its beginnings back in 2006, but was delayed for a number of reasons along the way.

“When we came up again more recently, it was immediately embraced by the mayor and the city and it has been wonderful since then,” Leavitt said. “The city has been very cooperative. Their requirements have been quite severe, but this is a big project and we want it to be something that we can be proud of, and that you can all be proud of.”

Leavitt introduced Utah developer Tom Pugh, of Quantum Construction and Development who is woking as lead on the project. Pugh has worked on schools, churches, retail projects, townhomes, regional centers and many other projects. He was also the developer on the Cedar City Lighthouse project as well as the Thanksgiving Point development in Lehi, Utah.

“We are excited about this project,” Pugh said. “It is different than anything we have done for quite a while and we think it is going to change this downtown area.”

At the center of the development will be a park with a stream and fountain elements running through it.

“It will be a place where kids can play in the water,” Pugh said. “It will be safe because nowhere will the stream be deeper than five inches. So even the little ones can play among the rocks of the stream and parents can watch them from benches and grassy hills along the sides.”

The park will feature a small 125-seat amphitheatre where public performances can be held.

A colorful Bougainvillea Archway will be placed covering a central pathway in the park. This 10 foot tall and 45 foot long archway will be shaded by the flowering plants giving an attractive photographic destination to the park.

A hands-on exhibit displaying the historic Bunkerville irrigation system will be located under a large shade structure in the park. Children will be able to interact with this replica to divert water to different ditches on the model and see what it is like to move water from one area to another in order to water crops.

Pugh said that the irrigation display will probably appeal to more than just the children. “This is based loosely on a similar situation we created up at Thanksgiving Point,” Pugh said. “It was supposed to be for kids, but a lot of times the parents push the kids out of the way because it is a lot of fun.”

There will also be a central statuary where busts of original Mesquite settlers will be displayed. This will be an area where visitors can learn about the earliest origins of Mesquite.

“As you walk through there, if you have a smart phone with you, you can just put it up to a QR code at various stations and it will tell you about that particular pioneer family,” Pugh said. “So you’ll be able to learn about the local pioneer history.”

This interactive feature would utilize the materials and technology available on the FamilySearch.org website, Leavitt added.

Leavitt said that the park would be the first to be built. But quickly following that, a series of eight two-story and three-story buildings will be constructed surrounding that central green area of the park.

The lower levels of the buildings will offer opportunities for small stores, offices, eating establishments and other commercial uses. Upper levels will provide multi-family residential units. Outside the ring of buildings, parking would be available to serve all the needs of the development.

Leavitt said that a groundbreaking ceremony for the project is being planned for the first week in January, 2022. That timing is in honor of the first group of pioneer settlers arriving in the area on January 7, 1877, he said.

After these explanations, Leavitt and Litman took up their pens to sign the agreement documents.

“This is a great thing to be doing today,” Litman said. “This project will finally move forward and I guarantee it will be beautiful.”