As work continues on phase one of Riverfront Park, the city’s eyes are starting to turn to the next phase of the park that aims to be a destination play area for Warren County.

Phase two was presented to city commissioners on Jan. 22 during the city’s day-long planning meeting. No action was taken then on phase two, but officials were able to see design concepts and some early plans, along with a video rendering.

“This is the big vision,” said Neighborhood and Community services head Brent Childers. “This is where we’re going.”

Phase two will occupy roughly one acre and will sit at the back of the main 71-acre lot that will house the park. The play area consists of a large, flower-shaped area. Nearby is a “plinth,” consisting of two levels that feature slides and other play areas. The whole playground is designed to have a cave theme, with cave formation features dotting the area.

Different play areas will provide amenities that Childers says are not present currently anywhere in Bowling Green. This includes an area consisting of stick-like equipment that children can climb on and a cloud-shaped feature in the middle that visitors can climb and stand on as well.

A 30-foot high earthen mound will wrap around the side of the playground facing Barren River, and a sprayground that mimics the shape of the River will join as well. Near the play area will be a food truck area.

“This is where the park really comes to life,” Childers told the Daily News. ” … We really wanted to push the envelope for a whole new feature of play, a whole destination, where there’s nothing like any of this anywhere in this part of the world.”

Phase two will also see the creation of a performance lawn near the playground. Designs show it as a grassy area providing space for a temporary stage that could be installed for events, similar to the stage that is set up in Circus Square Park during summer events.

Bids are expected to go out in the spring. While no set date for a groundbreaking has been determined, the city plans to turn dirt on phase two just as phase one construction finishes.

Construction on phase one began in December last year. It will include a new boat ramp leading down to Barren River along with a pedestrian plaza complete with benches, picnic areas, a temporary parking lot, event space and other pedestrian features. A bid was approved last year from Scott & Murphy for $4,305,769.

In 2020 the city received a grant that covered some costs associated with phase one. Phase three, which includes the Barren River Whitewater Park project, has seen $4 million in local money put into its coffers along with a $3.6 million federal grant awarded in 2024.

Phase two though will be fully funded by the city with no grants, and even though “several million” has been held back by the city, final details are still being worked out on costs.

“We’re still working with our design firm on that and trying to kind of align with what we think is going to be available on the budget side,” Childers said. “There’s a lot of flexibility whenever you get into a project like this … and so we’re just trying to figure out how do we make it work for this phase given the amount of funding.”