Land donation expands greenspace
This is common with more people moving to Madison. They need a place to live and developers are willing to take a risk and build it for them.
But, thanks to a donation by the land’s owners, Enfinger Steele Development, not all of Madison will become concrete and steel. The company recently gave about 31 acres of undeveloped wetland area back to the city.
“The nice thing about this is, is that the east side of the property ties in with existing city property along Bradford Creek that is going to be part of the greenway. So, we could do a greenway trail loop extension or anything at this point,” Kirkindall said. “We don’t have anything planned at this point except to just leave it as it is.”
“The nice thing about this place, if want be, it can just stay natural and not have to be developed at all,” Nat Berry, a local outdoor enthusiast, said.
Berry said it was difficult during these times to get a piece of land and just leave it as a natural area.
The 31 acre donation mostly consists of wetland area that would have been more expensive to develop. It will be bordered by apartment complexes.
“It would have been more expensive for him (Jeff Enfinger) to develop it but he could have developed it if he wanted to,” Kirkindall said.
Bradford creek is almost four mles long and the proposed Bradford Creek Greenway will run from Liberty Middle School to Madison Boulevard, according to Berry, who has served on Madison Beautification and Tree Board and is a former chairman of the North Alabama Sierra Club.
While serving as a representative in the North Alabama Sierra Club, Berry created and cut the Rainbow Mountain Trails in Madison.
“I think the donation of land to the city of Madison by developers is very important, because otherwise Madison would not be fiscally capable of securing more greenspace,” Berry said..
The donated greenspace is filled with sweet gum, poplar, and hackberry trees, along with some wildlife.
Kirkindall said this land fits in nicely with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan developed by the city that allots a certain amount of greenspace.
