The fastest way into Warwick Park on foot is from Virginia Avenue. You walk down a residential street to the park's only walk-in entrance. Cars park at the Columbia, Kentucky and Washburn entrances. The Virginia side is just for walkers.
The city's own walkability consultants looked at that route this year and found that neither Virginia Avenue nor Warwick Avenue has any space for people on foot. Walkers share the pavement with traffic that doesn't stop at the Warwick intersection.
Behind the construction fences, St. Matthews is rebuilding the southern half of the park, and that project is fully funded. The walk to the Virginia gate is a separate project, and nobody has decided on it yet.
What the Fences Are Holding
Warwick Park covers 8.4 acres on the block bounded by Washburn, Columbia, Virginia and Kentucky avenues. The city rededicated it in May 2007 after a major upgrade, and it was renovated again in 2013. The current work, Phases II and III, makes this the third major rework in about twenty years. It is the next step in the city's park-system master plan.
The bid package and the city's August 2026 newsletter together list what is being built:
- A new playground the city describes as "for all ages"
- A larger pavilion, plus a pergola
- A replacement loop trail and a small culvert bridge
- Two replacement parking lots
- A new public restroom
- A regraded playing field
- Underground stormwater storage beneath the site
- Protection for existing trees during grading
A city notice dated September 3, 2026 says the park is closed except for the pickleball courts, basketball courts and restroom, and asks people not to pass through the construction fences. It gives a reopening target of May 2027. The August newsletter says the same thing in other words: construction "will last through spring 2027."
The Money Came in Under Budget
St. Matthews held a pre-bid meeting on June 16, 2026, and opened bids on July 7. Eight contractors bid. The July 14 council minutes put the numbers side by side:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Set aside in the city budget | $7 million |
| Designer's estimate | $5.6 million |
| Highest of eight bids | About $5 million |
| Lowest bid | Under $4 million |
Even the highest bid came in below the designer's estimate. The designer is Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group. Council approved Municipal Order 26-17 by a 6-0 voice vote. The minutes say the next steps were a notice to proceed for Pace Contracting, a firm the city has worked with before, and a pre-construction meeting to set the timeline.
Metro Councilmember Dr. Paula McCraney added $175,000 from Louisville Metro's budget, and the minutes record her thanking the council for the partnership. The same meeting raised a few possible upgrades: sod instead of seed and straw, irrigation, and extra undercutting in a parking lot. Council asked staff to look into the sod and irrigation costs.
By August, the contractor was getting permits and putting in erosion controls. The August 25 expenditure list includes a payment to the design firm under "Parks – Capital Improvements – Warwick Park."
From bid opening to approval took one week, and the money was more than enough. The park side of this story moved quickly.
The Block Outside the Virginia Gate
The street side took a different route. It sits in the St. Matthews Walkability Study, dated June 2026 and prepared by HDR after public meetings on March 3 and June 1 and a resident survey. Project #21 covers the stretch of Virginia and Warwick avenues from Harris Place to the park's Virginia entrance. Its description of existing conditions reads:
Neither Virginia Avenue nor Warwick Avenue currently provides accommodations for people walking, requiring pedestrians to share space with vehicles. Traffic on Virginia Avenue does not stop at the Warwick Avenue intersection.
The study traces part of the problem to a nearby fix. Harris Place has a series of speed humps, so drivers headed for New LaGrange Road cut through on Virginia to avoid them. Its proposal has three parts:
- A new sidewalk along Warwick Avenue that connects to the existing sidewalks on Harris Place and leads walkers into the park, then through to Washburn Avenue and Lyndon.
- Raised intersections at Warwick and Marquette Drive and at Warwick and Virginia Avenue, to discourage cut-through traffic and keep speeds down.
- High-visibility crosswalk markings at both raised intersections.
The study's planning-level estimate for all of it is $120,000 to $150,000. That's less than the $175,000 Metro grant toward the park, and a small fraction of the gap between the $7 million budget and a lowest bid under $4 million. The study also recommends a $500,000 annual first-phase budget across the city for sidewalk and ADA fixes, striping, traffic calming, and design and grant matching.
A Second Idea for the Same Street
Warwick Avenue came up at the same July 14 meeting that approved the park contract. According to the minutes, council members discussed a speed table at Virginia and Warwick and a sidewalk on Warwick from Harris to Virginia. The city's Public Works Director opposed the sidewalk, partly because light poles would have to be moved. He suggested making Warwick a one-way street with a lane for bikes and pedestrians.
So the block now has two candidate designs. The study's version adds a curb-side sidewalk and two raised intersections. The Public Works version takes width from traffic by making the street one-way. Both aim to give walkers their own space between Harris Place and the gate. Neither has come up for a vote.
Since July, the record has been quiet. Minutes from July 28, August 11, August 25 and September 8 show no item on the Warwick sidewalk, a one-way conversion, raised intersections, or adopting the study. The September 22 meeting was canceled, and the October 13 agenda didn't include the topic. The city did pay HDR $27,946.10 on July 28 and $951.66 on August 11 for study work. The city's August newsletter says HDR "will now take the additional information from the June meeting and produce a document specifically outlining proposed projects that the City may implement over the next several years."
The park has a contractor, a budget, and a reopening month. The walk to its Virginia gate has two competing ideas, a cost estimate, and a consultant document still in progress.
Between Now and May
For anyone who uses the park or lives on the streets around it, here is the sequence the city has published:
- Now through spring: The pickleball courts, basketball courts and restroom stay open. The rest of the park is behind construction fencing.
- Ongoing: HDR is turning the walkability study into a list of projects the city may carry out over several years. Project #21 is the one that covers Warwick Avenue.
- Council meetings: The October 13 agenda set the next meeting for October 27, and minutes are posted on the city's site.
- Spring 2027: Construction is scheduled to finish.
- May 2027: The new playground, pavilion, pergola, loop trail, parking lots and restroom are due to open.
Unless council acts on Project #21 before then, the rebuilt park will open in May 2027, and people walking from Harris Place will reach its Virginia gate in the street, as they do today.
If you own a home on the streets around Warwick Park and expect to sell or buy near it as the park reopens, it helps to know which changes are funded and which are still under discussion. Laura Rice follows these St. Matthews decisions closely, and we're happy to talk through what they could mean for your plans. Let's Connect.
