A multi-million-dollar George Town park, eight years in the making, will open on Saturday, 1 August with a public ribbon cutting ceremony.
Planning minister Johany Ebanks will lead the park opening alongside George Town Central MP Kenneth Bryan, who spearheaded the project during his previous tenure as minister of tourism.
Speaking on Radio Cayman’s ‘For the Record’ programme on 22 July, Bryan described the completed project in glowing terms.
“Your mind will be blown away. I put all my political career on this, every drop of it, and I’m proud that I’ve done,” Bryan said.
He described the park as a vision initiated by the community, calling it a space that senior citizens in particular “can call their own”.
It has been designed to provide youth services, sporting amenities and benefits for mental health with wheelchair and disability access available throughout.
The park’s main buildings will be named after two prominent George Town figures.
The senior centre will carry the name of Lucille Seymour, Cayman’s first female permanent secretary, and the youth centre will be named after Frank McField, a former minister for youth services.
The park also includes a basketball court, a pickleball court and a football pitch, along with an area of calisthenics equipment fit for older users.
The green space will be open to the public without the need for booking. Use of the buildings for events will require reservation through Facilities Management and will initially be free of charge.
The Central Scranton Park project began to take shape in 2018, after the then Peoples Progressive Movement-led administration purchased the plot located off of Shedden Road, Myles Lane and Martin Drive.
The first phase of development began in 2024, with the signing of a CI$2.3 million contract with McAlpine. The construction company signed a second contract for phase two the same year.
For 2025, the government placed estimated spending on the park project at $8.27m, with an additional $800,000 budgeted for 2026.
While Ebanks now leads the portfolio responsible for planning and lands, he described Bryan as the ongoing “project manager” during an April sitting of parliament.
“He has run this project for me, bringing back information to me directly and to my team. I have not intervened into this project,” Ebanks said.
In the sitting of parliament, Bryan submitted a successful private member’s motion “ensuring [the park’s] preservation in perpetuity for the purposes of senior care, youth development, and environmental conservation”.
The 1 August ribbon cutting will be held from 3pm to 5pm.
