Loudoun County officials had possibly the most attended ribbon cutting in history on Friday, Sept. 23 when they formally opened the long-awaited Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park.
The 257-acre regional park is the result of years of planning and work and the vision of Haldore “Hal” and Berni Hanson three decades ago. After Hal Hanson, a writer, U.S. State Department official and nonprofit leader, died in 1992, the Hanson Family Partnership agreed to sell the land to Loudoun County solely for use as a park. in accordance with Hal and Berni’s wishes. The county purchased the property in 2009 through negotiations with the Hanson family, Dominion Power and the National Park Service as part of a U.S. Department of the Interior program. Most of the project’s $100 million budget was paid through developers.
County government and contractor leaders celebrated the ribbon cutting in front of packed bleachers for the event.
Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), Loudoun’s longest-serving current supervisor, recalled the county board’s vote on the project in 2012, his first year in office.
“This has been with me for 11 years, different staff, different colleagues, but one thing has been constant, which has been the support of the whole community and the board,” he said.
“There was a lot of input from the public on what was going to go into this park. That framework was what created this unique park,” Loudoun Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure Acting Assistant Director Scott Worst said. “I wasn’t around for those workshops, but considering everything that goes into this park, I have to assume that if something was mentioned, it was put on a board.”
Loudoun Capital Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Acting Assistant Director Scott Worrest speaks at the grand opening of the Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park on Friday, Sept. 23, with families already packed into a playground in the background. [Renss Greene/Loudoun Now]
” data-medium-file=” data-large-file=” width=”800″ height=”534″ src=” alt=”” class=”wp-image-101887 jetpack-lazy-image” data-recalc- dims=”1″ data-lazy-srcset=” 1000w, 300w, 768w, 150w, 500w, 640w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max width: 800px) 100vw, 800px” data-lazy-src=” srcset = “data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″/>Loudoun Capital Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Interim Deputy Director Scott Worst speaks at the grand opening of the Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park on Friday, 23 September with families already packed in a children’s park in the background. [Renss Greene/Loudoun Now]
He said the park is a once-in-a-lifetime type of project. HESS construction project manager Jonathan Lang said that, in terms of footprint, it was the largest project the company had ever tackled.
The park’s extensive features include a cricket field, a disc golf course, four baseball/softball fields with batting cages, four tennis/pickleball courts, an outdoor basketball court, skate plaza, splash pad , 10 fields of multipurpose grass, two of artificial grass. pitches with stands and press boxes and two children’s playgrounds with a rubber surface. The project also includes an amphitheater, concession buildings and pavilions and restrooms, fishing piers, five ponds, a lodge/event center, nature center, paved and unpaved trails, picnic pavilions, two off-leash areas for dogs, more than 75 acres of a passive park and a renovation of the Hanson house.
“This regional part was built with everyone in mind, from the splash pad, to the pickleball, to the disc golf course,” said Loudoun Parks Recreation and Open Space Board Chair Kristen Reed. “We even have a space for dogs.”
The county celebrated the first full day of the officially opened park on Saturday, September 24 with a day of activities including bounce houses, food trucks, lawn games, an open house at the Nature Center with displays and crafts for children, teams practicing on the different sports courts, shuttle tours through the park and an open day at the lodge.
The park is located off Evergreen Mills Road in Aldie between Brambleton and Willowsford.
