Fisher Park's West Lawn Is Fenced Off for Construction. The Holiday Calendar Keeps Going.

"You're in the middle of the city, but you feel like you're in the woods when you're down in the middle of the park, and we want to keep that feeling." That's how Erin Kennedy, planning and projects coordinator for Greensboro Parks and Recreation, put it to WFMY while neighbors were arguing over how many trees the city's plan would cost.

Since mid-September, the west end of the park near Victoria Street has been a work zone. The city is building on the spot where, in its own words, "the neighborhood is accustomed to holding community events." The Gathering Space gives that habit a permanent home. In the meantime, the Fisher Park Neighborhood Association's winter schedule shows how much of the neighborhood's social life already happens in other places.

The Fence Went Up Around the Neighborhood's Event Lawn

The City of Greensboro's September 18 announcement said work started that week with the removal of about 11 trees. The section nearest Fisher Park Circle and Victoria Street is closed for safety while construction continues "through 2026 and into 2027."

The plan has been around for a while. Greensboro adopted a master plan for Fisher Park in 2022, and WFDD reported that it went four years without funding. That changed when Dave Staub, a Fisher Park resident and president of The Contemporary Foundation, started the upgrades as a private investment in partnership with Parks and Recreation.

Here's what will eventually stand on that lawn, according to the city:

• A bluestone patio with low seating walls, called "an all occasions gathering space"
• A four-seasons garden of native plants designed by local landscape architect Callaway and Associates
• "Divine Wind," a custom metal sculpture by Greensboro sculptor Jim Gallucci, at the park entrance from Fisher Park Circle
• New stonework and landscaping at the entries, matched to the look of the park
• An accessible pathway and a parking space along Fisher Park Circle

The technical design is by Westcott Small and Associates, a local civil engineering firm. The master plan behind it all came from Greensboro-based Revington Reaves Landscape Architecture and Planning.

Neighbor Feedback Cut the Gathering Space by a Third

The design going in now is smaller than the first drawings. A resident started a petition asking the city to pause the project. WFMY reported that more than 60 people signed it, raising concerns about tree removal, the size of the patio, and whether enough neighbors had heard about the plan.

The city revised the plan and presented the changes at the neighborhood association's June 22, 2026 board meeting. According to the board's minutes, the revisions changed these elements:

The city's Gathering Space FAQ still links the updated construction drawings showing the 52-by-20-foot patio, along with the tree map and arborist assessment. The Historic Preservation Commission had already approved the plans in October 2025. The city's project timeline records three neighbors speaking in favor at that hearing and none against.

The tree count is the part to watch over the next few months. The city said about 11 trees came out when work began. The association's Fall 2026 newsletter put the number at 10. The city plans to plant 30 canopy trees in the west section, so the canopy should come out ahead once the saplings grow in.

What Gets Built Before the Patio

Jim Halsch, the association's park coordinator, laid out the order of work in The Fisher Parker's Fall 2026 issue:

1. Tree removal, already done, with the trees ground up on site
2. Water lines and irrigation
3. Locked electrical outlets
4. The low seating walls and the bluestone patio
5. Replanting trees in late fall or winter

The space is being plumbed and wired with events in mind. According to the June board minutes, the outlets will stay locked, using them for a neighborhood event will require board approval, and Greensboro Parks and Recreation will manage the space together with the FPNA Board. The minutes also say the space won't be available for rental at first, and no restrooms or permanent lighting are planned. Over the next few months, the neighborhood's calendar runs mostly through places other than that lawn.

This Winter's Calendar Mostly Happens Away From the Lawn

Look at the association's schedule for the rest of 2026 and most of it happens in a social hall, along the streets, or inside neighbors' homes:

The association's events page still lists an earlier November 15 date for the year-end reception and a December date marked "??" for the open house. The Fall 2026 newsletter gives the November 22 and December 18 dates above. The events page lists Luminaria Winterfest in West Fisher Park. Since that's where the construction is, the association's text line is the quickest way to get the details for December 13. You can sign up by texting FPNA, in all caps, to 336-203-7773. Online orders for luminary kits open through links on the association's website, and Emily Hinton is the contact at 336-266-2598 if online ordering doesn't work for you.

The Holiday Open House asks guests to bring school supplies to donate to the local community, and it's an evening spent inside neighbors' homes. The October 24 Halloween parade started from the East Park playground, the half of the park that's still open.

Downtown's December Starts Earlier

The city's own holiday events come before the neighborhood's. Greensboro's Festival of Lights is Friday, December 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Center City Park, 200 N. Elm St., with a tree lighting, a sing-along, Santa, carolers, and music along Elm Street. The same night, Downtown Greensboro Inc. runs the Merry Marketplace at LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with vendors, food, and live holiday music.

The walk downtown is easier than it was a year ago. The Downtown Greenway finished its last mile, the Western Branch, in May 2026 and closed its four-mile loop. Its 2025 entries record the new Murrow Boulevard and Fisher Avenue bridge over Church Street and the railroad tracks. Parks director Phil Fleischmann said in the city's announcement that he hopes the finished park will draw "those using nearby amenities including the Downtown Greenway."

There's also a new stop on the way. No Rush Coffee + Cocktail Lounge at 245 E. Friendly Ave. held its grand opening on September 4. It's a daytime coffee bar that turns into a cocktail lounge in the evening.

Fisher Park isn't the only local landmark under repair this season. First Presbyterian Church is replacing mortar, repairing stone and the roof, and waterproofing windows on its sanctuary and exterior. The church says the work is scheduled to finish in 2027 and that worship continues during the renovation.

The Plan Doesn't Stop at the West Lawn

The West Park gathering space is described as phase one. The city says that with The Contemporary Foundation's continued support, it intends to carry the improvements into the east section of the park "until the entire park been improved as recommended by the master plan." East Park has the playground where the Halloween parade gathers, so the same talks about trees and patio size could come up there. The association lists that playground as the meeting point for its fall events. Construction updates are posted on the Parks and Recreation current projects page under Fisher Park Gathering Space. The park workdays on the first and third Saturdays are the most hands-on way to follow the work, and Jim Halsch takes volunteers at 336-302-3738.

If you'd like more of the neighborhood beyond the park, our Fisher Park neighborhood guide and our earlier post on weekend living in Fisher Park cover it. At Pam Robbins Real Estate Group, we keep track of changes like this new gathering space because they shape everyday life in a neighborhood. If you have questions about how a project like this one affects your street or your plans, schedule a consultation and we'll talk it through.