Once-contaminated site now a downtown park in Muncie

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) – A once-contaminated patch of land is now a park in downtown Muncie.

Cornerstone Park is meant to be a gateway to Muncie’s downtown. An opening ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday. The site was a cleaners for many years. Now it will have a small performance stage, streetlights, sidewalks, landscaping and a concrete seat wall. It’s designed to connect with another nearby park.

The (Muncie) Star Press reports that the site had a buried underground storage tank and contamination from various other sources. The city of Muncie worked with the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the tank and install environmental monitoring wells.

The park was paid for with nearly $470,000 raised from foundations and city agencies.