“If you’re patient with us,” Brett Blackburn promised Friday, “we’re going to build a beautiful building for you.”
Blackburn spoke in Iola Friday, as development at Lehigh Portland State Park is entering its next phase, construction of a new visitors center at the park.
Conner O’Flannagan, regional supervisor with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Thrive Allen County CEO Lisse Regehr and Blackburn, who oversees engineering for KDWP projects, spoke prior to the ceremony.
Even a blustery south wind did little to cool the enthusiasm among the 40 or so attendees.
The 6,000 square-foot visitors center — one of the largest in the state park system — will include a community room capable of holding crowds of up to 300 people, meeting rooms, kitchen and restroom facilities, and a deck offering what promises to be a spectacular view of the Lehigh Portland lake.
O’Flannagan estimated construction will be complete sometime this fall.
Meanwhile, work continues full speed ahead on infrastructure for 40 or so RV parking spots, another campground area, and finally clearing a route to connect the south end of the park to the existing trails.
“A lot has been accomplished, and a lot is still to be done,” Regehr said. “There is so much we hope to see from the construction of this park: economic impact, rural revitalization and most importantly in my mind, pride.
“I hope that all of our community is so proud of where you call home,” she continued, “of the beautiful amenity that is here and will continue to grow into what is possible under KDWP’s leadership; of the people willing to give so much for all of us to benefit; and of those who have labored behind the scenes for years and continue to do so.
“It’s going to be an amazing building,” Blackburn promised, as he walked the audience through the ongoing design discussions.
He estimated sorting through 40 different iterations of what the center will look like.
“It wasn’t just the Thrive people, or the Lehigh Portland people,” Blackburn said, identifying several who contributed to the discussion. “It wasn’t just us. It was everybody that worked this together.”
THE TRAILS at Lehigh Portland have remained open since the land was donated to the state from Iola Industries in 2023, although the lake itself has remained off limits.
O’Flannagan said he hoped to see a portion of the lake opened this fall once the visitors center is complete.
“We probably need to be open at that point,” he said.
