Mobile County leaders will hold a groundbreaking Wednesday for a new public park featuring amenities that include kayak and fishing access to Three Mile Creek.

The ceremony for the future Lewis Landing park will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 14, at 1365 Conception Street Road. The location is a short distance north of downtown Mobile, where the creek crosses Conception Street Road shortly before passing under I-165 and flowing on eastward to the Mobile River.

According to information provided by the county, the park comprises almost two acres; the county purchased the land in 2020 for $40,000, using money provided via the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). Construction is expected to take about six months and to cost a little more than $800,000, funded by a state GOMESA grant.

Park amenities will include a kayak launch, pavilions, fishing piers, green space and parking. According to information provided by the county, District 1 Commissioner Merceria Ludgood has spearheaded the effort.

Wednesday’s ceremony will include representatives of the Mobile County Commission and the Mobile City Council; Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson; Patti McCurdy, state lands director for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and Anderson Flen, representing the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation and the Africatown Connections Blueway project.

At least in part, the choice of location celebrates the importance of the Three Mile Creek watershed to the early residents of Africatown, a community founded by survivors of the slave ship Clotilda. The park will be near Lewis Quarters, a settlement established as part of the larger Africatown community.